Sanju Samson failed to make the cut in Team India’s 15-man Champions Trophy 2025 squad announced on Saturday (Jan 18) in Mumbai, and Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has attributed his exclusion to Kerala Cricket Association’s (KCA) failure in handling Samson’s case. Tharoor alleges the administrators’ egos have cost Samson a place in India’s ODI squad for the first showpiece event of the year.
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Although Samson is part of India’s 15-man T20I squad for the England series, starting January 22 in Kolkata, his omission from the One-Day side has more to do with his absence from the just-concluded Vijay Hazare Trophy.
After Samson informed his state association of his unavailability for a preparatory camp ahead of the squad selection last December, KCA enforced their policy of needing the players to appear for the camp, leading to his exclusion from the squad.
“The sorry saga of the Kerala Cricket Association and Sanju Samson – the player wrote to KCA, in advance, regretting his inability to attend a training camp between the SMA and the Vijay Hazare Trophy tournaments, and was promptly dropped from the squad -- has now resulted in Sanju's exclusion from the Indian team,” Shashi wrote on his social media handle (X, previously known as Twitter).
“A batsman who has a highest score of 212* in the Hazare, who averages 56.66 in ODIs for India (including a century in his last outing, against South Africa) is having his career destroyed by the egos of cricket administrators,” he continued.
Meanwhile, Tharoor pointed fingers at the failed management of KCA, asking them tougher questions.
“Doesn't it bother the KCA bosses that by leaving Sanju out, they ensured Kerala didn't even reach the quarter-finals of the Hazare? Where does this leave him?” Tharoor added.
The sorry saga of the Kerala Cricket Association and Sanju Samson -- the player wrote to KCA, in advance, regretting his inability to attend a training camp between the SMA and the Vijay Hazare Trophy tournaments, and was promptly dropped from the squad -- has now resulted in…
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) January 18, 2025
Earlier, Samson captained Kerala in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024, where his team narrowly failed to make the knockouts, having won four out of six matches. During the Vijay Hazare Trophy, Salman Nizar captained the state team in Sachin Baby’s absence, out with an injury.
Samson’s star show and India’s Champions Trophy squad
Samson scored two T20I hundreds during his last international tour (away four-match series against South Africa in November last year), pressing his case for retention in the shortest format. Although he succeeded in his attempt, with India naming him for England T20Is, Samson’s decent 50-over record was not enough for him to break into the 15-man Champions Trophy squad.
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Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul will share the wicket-keeping duties during both series.
India’s CT 2025 squad –
Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja
(With inputs from agencies)