Unfair for Sanju Samson: Former Pakistan cricketer questions his absence from India's T20 World Cup squad

Sanju Samson was trending on Twitter soon after India announced their squad for the T20 World Cup 2022 on Monday. The wicket-keeper batter was not in the reckoning for selection but many believed he had an outside chance due to his experience and brilliant strokeplay which could have helped the Indian team during the showpiece event in Australia next month.

However, much to the dejection of many, Samson was snubbed from the 15-man squad with India selecting Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik as the two wicket-keeper batters in the team. Like many, former Pakistan cricketer Danish Kaneria was also left baffled by Samson's absence from India's squad and called the decision unfair.

Kaneria believes Samson should have made the cut ahead of Pant in the squad and that he has not been given enough opportunities by the selectors despite performing well.

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“It is a bit unfair for someone like Sanju Samson. He should have been considered for the T20 World Cup squad. What has he done wrong to not find a place? He has also been ignored for India’s home series against Australia and South Africa. I would have gone for Samson instead of Rishabh Pant,” Kaneria said in a video on his YouTube channel.

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Samson last featured for India on their tour of Zimbabwe last month where he scored 58 runs in two ODIs. The talented wicket-keeper batter has been around for a while now but hasn't quite managed to live up to the expectations due to his inconsistent performances.

He was part of India's squad in the T20I series against Sri Lanka earlier this year where Indian skipper Rohit Sharma had lavished praise on the star batter and called him a match-winner. Rohit had said the Indian team management wanted to give opportunities to Samson as he is someone who has a range of shots and he can be useful in Australia.

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“As a team management, we see a lot of potential, we see a lot of talent and we see a lot of match-winning abilities in that individual (Sanju Samson),” Rohit Sharma had said about Samson.

“His back-foot play is superb, some of the shots you must have seen during the IPL, the pick-up pull, the cut shots, standing and delivering over bowler’s head. Those kinds of shots are not easy to play and I believe when we go to Australia, you need that kind of shot-making ability and Samson does have it in him. I just hope that he utilises his potential to the maximum,” he added.

However, the 27-year-old has missed the bus once again and will be hoping to spark a turnaround in his international career with better performances in the opportunities that come his way in the future. Samson has so far played 7 ODIs and 16 T20Is in his career, amassing 176 and 296 runs in the two formats respectively.