Sanju Samson, one of the most promising talents in Indian cricket, despite making his debut for the national side in 2015 has played just 13 ODIs and 24 T20Is. Samson has been inconsistent in T20Is yes, but his record in ODIs speaks for itself and despite all of this he was limited to the reserves in the Asia Cup squad and didn't even find a place in the side for the Australia series when the seniors rested. Samson may not have gotten into the playing XI but still, there is an argument that he should have been in the 15 at least, given he averages 55 and is striking at 104 even though the sample size may be less.
Samson himself was disappointed after the team for the first two ODIs were announced because there was a real chance for him to be in it. He took to Instagram saying, "It is what it is !! I choose to keep moving forward."
Now Samson is not in either the senior team or the one that is going to the Asian Games. And, Samson's former Rajasthan Royals teammate and ex-Indian cricketer Robin Uthappa also was puzzled with how the wicketkeeper has been handled in the last few months.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Uthappa said, "I find it wrong to not have Sanju Samson in the squad. He has done well whenever he has gotten an opportunity in ODIs. Yes, he has been inconsistent in T20Is, but his performances in ODIs have been quite good. The justification would be that he won't be in the XI, so why keep him in the squad?
"But I think it is important to have continuity. In the case of Sanju, they haven't done that. He was in the reserves for the Asia Cup but wasn't picked for the Australia series. At least send him to the Asian Games. It is very normal to be dejected as a player when you don't get support despite doing well," he added.
Jitesh Sharma is the first-choice wicketkeeper in the Asian Games squad and Samson will hope that he is named in the squad that plays the three-match T20I series against Australia, immediately after the World Cup.
