India cricketer Sanju Samson will undergo treatment for a mucus cyst on his lower lip. This will rule him out of the third round of the ongoing Ranji Trophy that commences on Saturday (October 26). Notably, his treatment is very close to India's tour of South Africa for four T20Is as well but Samson is expected to travel the rainbow nation.
Samson wants the procedure to be done before the South Africa tour where the T20 Internationals are scheduled to be played from November 8 to 13. He is now set to get a longer rope in the shortest format after his maiden ton off 40 balls against Bangladesh in Hyderabad earlier this month. His knock helped India post a mammoth total of 297/6 in their 20 overs.
Soon after the three-match T20I series, Samson made himself available for the second round of Ranji Trophy for Kerala. However, that first-class game in Alur against Karnataka was affected by rain. Only fifty overs of play was possible in the game with Kerala scoring 161 runs for the loss of three wickets.
Samson remained unbeaten on 15 off 13 balls with two fours and a six to his name when play was interrupted due to rain only never to resume again. A KCA official confirmed the development of Samson not being available for Kerala for the third round due to procedure as they face Bengal in Kolkata.
Even though India's T20I squad for the upcoming South Africa tour is not announced yet, Samson is expected to be picked in the team. In this case, Kerala will have to make do without him for two more Ranji Trophy matches against Uttar Pradesh (from November 6 to 9) and Haryana (November 13 to 16). Kerala are currently at second place in Group C with a win and a draw in two matches.
