<p>Sanju Samson failed to make the cut in Team India&rsquo;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&rsquo;s (KCA) failure in handling Samson&rsquo;s case. Tharoor alleges the administrators&rsquo; egos have cost Samson a place in India&rsquo;s ODI squad for the first showpiece event of the year.</p>
<p><strong>Also read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/cricket/coldplays-chris-martin-gives-shout-out-to-indian-cricketer-jasprit-bumrah-during-mumbai-concert-watch-8634470" rel="dofollow">Coldplay&rsquo;s Chris Martin gives shout-out to Bumrah during Mumbai concert &ndash; Watch</a></strong></p>
<p>Although Samson is part of India&rsquo;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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>&ldquo;The sorry saga of the Kerala Cricket Association and Sanju Samson &ndash; 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,&rdquo; Shashi wrote on his social media handle (X, previously known as Twitter).</p>
<p>&ldquo;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,&rdquo; he continued.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Tharoor pointed fingers at the failed management of KCA, asking them tougher questions.&nbsp;</p>
<p>&ldquo;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?&rdquo; Tharoor added.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet publive-iframes-block publive-Twitter-block" contenteditable="false" width="600" height="400" id="PL_blockquote_block-m63bivmq-que4w1g8-z5piw0n0">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">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&hellip;</p>
&mdash; Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) <a href="https://twitter.com/ShashiTharoor/status/1880588056010657798?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 18, 2025</a></blockquote>
<p>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&rsquo;s absence, out with an injury.&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Samson&rsquo;s star show and India&rsquo;s Champions Trophy squad</h2>
<p>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&rsquo;s decent 50-over record was not enough for him to break into the 15-man Champions Trophy squad.</p>
<p><strong>Also read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/cricket/rishabh-pant-to-captain-lucknow-super-giants-in-ipl-2025-report-8634265" rel="dofollow">Rishabh Pant to captain Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2025 &ndash; Report</a></strong></p>
<p>Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul will share the wicket-keeping duties during both series.</p>
<h3>India&rsquo;s CT 2025 squad &ndash;</h3>
<p>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</p>
<p><em>(With inputs from agencies)</em></p>

Sports, Cricket: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor alleges the administrators’ egos have cost Samson a place in India’s ODI squad for the first showpiece event of the year.

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. Also read | Coldplay’s Chris Martin gives shout-out to Bumrah during Mumbai concert – Watch 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. Also read | Rishabh Pant to captain Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2025 – Report 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)

'Destroyed by egos...,' Shashi Tharoor blames state administrators for Samson's CT omission

<p>Union Minister of State for Information Technology and Electronics, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, has initiated legal action against Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, over alleged defamation. The action comes days after both leaders expressed readiness to engage in a debate on the topic of regional development in Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram.&nbsp;Both the leaders are contesting in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from the Thiruvananthapuram constituency.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The defamation case by&nbsp;Chandrasekhar against Tharoor comes at a juncture when a complaint was lodged by the Congress, to authenticate the affidavit submitted by Chandrasekhar as he had reported a taxable income of INR 680 for the fiscal year 2021-2022.</p>

<p>The latest defamation row stemmed from comments made by Tharoor during a recent television appearance. Chandrasekhar has accused Tharoor of spreading falsehoods about bribery in the BJP leader's campaign.</p>

<h2><strong>Chandrasekhar's legal notice</strong></h2>

<p>Chandrasekhar's legal notice contended that Tharoor's statements were intended to tarnish his reputation and image and were aimed at disrespecting the Christian community of Thiruvananthapuram by suggesting they are involved in alleged cash-for-votes schemes.</p>

<p>Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/supreme-court-warns-patanjali-in-ads-case-says-will-rip-you-apart-709803">Supreme Court warns Patanjali in ads case says ‘will rip you apart’</a></p>

<p>Moreover, the notice also alleged that Tharoor's remarks violated the Model Code of Conduct (MCC). It said that the comments were made to undermine Chandrasekhar's electoral efforts and turn it to Tharoor's advantage in the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections.</p>

<p>Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/candidates-dont-need-to-give-threadbare-account-of-their-lives-to-voters-supreme-court-709793">Candidates don't need to give 'threadbare' account of their lives to voters: Supreme Court</a></p>

<p>The notice also demanded that Tharoor retract the allegations immediately. It also sought for an unconditional public apology through print and electronic media.&nbsp;</p>

<section>
<p><strong>Watch |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/india-did-not-interfere-in-polls-won-by-trudeau-officials-probe-709797">India did not interfere in polls won by Trudeau: Officials Probe</a></strong></p>

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<p>The notice said that failure to comply within 24 hours would result in Chandrasekhar pursuing appropriate legal action.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Earlier, Tharoor while welcoming a debate said, "But the people of Thiruvananthapuram are aware of who has been evading a debate till now. Let us debate politics and development."</p>

<p>"Let us debate price hike, unemployment, corruption, communalism, and the BJP's 10 years of propagating politics of hatred. Let us also discuss about the development of Thiruvananthapuram and the visible progress we have made in last 15 years," he had added.</p>
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<p><em>(With inputs from agencies)</em></p>


Union Minister of State for Information Technology and Electronics, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, has initiated legal action against Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, over alleged defamation.

Union Minister of State for Information Technology and Electronics, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, has initiated legal action against Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, over alleged defamation. The action comes days after both leaders expressed readiness to engage in a debate on the topic of regional development in Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram. Both the leaders are contesting in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from the Thiruvananthapuram constituency. The defamation case by Chandrasekhar against Tharoor comes at a juncture when a complaint was lodged by the Congress, to authenticate the affidavit submitted by Chandrasekhar as he had reported a taxable income of INR 680 for the fiscal year 2021-2022. The latest defamation row stemmed from comments made by Tharoor during a recent television appearance. Chandrasekhar has accused Tharoor of spreading falsehoods about bribery in the BJP leader's campaign. Chandrasekhar's legal notice Chandrasekhar's legal notice contended that Tharoor's statements were intended to tarnish his reputation and image and were aimed at disrespecting the Christian community of Thiruvananthapuram by suggesting they are involved in alleged cash-for-votes schemes. Also Read | Supreme Court warns Patanjali in ads case says ‘will rip you apart’ Moreover, the notice also alleged that Tharoor's remarks violated the Model Code of Conduct (MCC). It said that the comments were made to undermine Chandrasekhar's electoral efforts and turn it to Tharoor's advantage in the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Also Read | Candidates don't need to give 'threadbare' account of their lives to voters: Supreme Court The notice also demanded that Tharoor retract the allegations immediately. It also sought for an unconditional public apology through print and electronic media. Watch | India did not interfere in polls won by Trudeau: Officials Probe × The notice said that failure to comply within 24 hours would result in Chandrasekhar pursuing appropriate legal action. Earlier, Tharoor while welcoming a debate said, "But the people of Thiruvananthapuram are aware of who has been evading a debate till now. Let us debate politics and development." "Let us debate price hike, unemployment, corruption, communalism, and the BJP's 10 years of propagating politics of hatred. Let us also discuss about the development of Thiruvananthapuram and the visible progress we have made in last 15 years," he had added. (With inputs from agencies)

Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar initiates defamation action against Congress MP Shashi Tharoor

<p>Delhi Police today filed a First Information Report(FIR) in <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/shashi-tharoors-wife-sunanda-pushkar-was-poisoned-report-35475">the death of Sunanda Pushkar</a>, wife of MP Shashi Tharoor, naming the Congress leader as one of the accused.</p>

<p>Sunanda Pushkar was found dead in a Delhi hotel under mysterious circumstances on January 17, 2014. Tharoor had married Sunanda four years earlier on&nbsp;August, 2010.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">1/2 I have taken note of the filing of this preposterous charge sheet &intend to contest it vigorously. No one who knew Sunanda believes she would ever have committed suicide, let alone abetment on my part. If this is conclusion arrived at after 4+ yrs of investigation, (contd.)</p>
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) <a href="https://twitter.com/ShashiTharoor/status/995977116884729856?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 14, 2018</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">2/2) it does not speak well of the methods or motivations of the Delhi Police. In oct 17, the Law Officer made a statement in the DelhiHighCourt that they have not found anything against anyone & now in 6 months they say that I have abetted a suicide. unbelievable!</p>
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) <a href="https://twitter.com/ShashiTharoor/status/995977356933136384?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 14, 2018</a></blockquote>
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<p>Shashi Tharoor was charged under sections 498 A (husband or his relative subjecting a woman to cruelty) and 306 (abetment of suicide) of the Indian Penal Code.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The chargesheet said that Pushkar died within three years, three months and 15 days of her marriage with Tharoor.</p>

<p>Meanwhile, Tharoor tweeted saying he intended to contest the "preposterous chargesheet" vigorously, alleging that "it does not speak well of the methods or motivations of the Delhi Police."</p>

<p>"The Law officer made a statement in the Dehli High Court that they have not found anything against anyone and now in six months they say that I have abetted a suicide," he said, adding,"unbelievable."</p>

<p>The Delhi Police had filed an FIR on January 1, 2015 against unknown persons under IPC section 302 (murder).</p>

<p>Speaking on the issue, BJP leader Subramanian Swamy said: "All witnesses & documents were destroyed by UPA govt & corrupt police. On basis of current evidence, this is what could be done."</p>

<p>"More information will come during the trial. There are allegations on Shashi Tharoor that he forced his wife to commit suicide," he added.</p>


Sunanda Pushkar was found dead in a Delhi hotel under mysterious circumstances on January 17, 2014.

Delhi Police today filed a First Information Report(FIR) in the death of Sunanda Pushkar, wife of MP Shashi Tharoor, naming the Congress leader as one of the accused. Sunanda Pushkar was found dead in a Delhi hotel under mysterious circumstances on January 17, 2014. Tharoor had married Sunanda four years earlier on August, 2010. 1/2 I have taken note of the filing of this preposterous charge sheet &intend to contest it vigorously. No one who knew Sunanda believes she would ever have committed suicide, let alone abetment on my part. If this is conclusion arrived at after 4+ yrs of investigation, (contd.) — Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) May 14, 2018 × 2/2) it does not speak well of the methods or motivations of the Delhi Police. In oct 17, the Law Officer made a statement in the DelhiHighCourt that they have not found anything against anyone & now in 6 months they say that I have abetted a suicide. unbelievable! — Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) May 14, 2018 × Shashi Tharoor was charged under sections 498 A (husband or his relative subjecting a woman to cruelty) and 306 (abetment of suicide) of the Indian Penal Code. The chargesheet said that Pushkar died within three years, three months and 15 days of her marriage with Tharoor. Meanwhile, Tharoor tweeted saying he intended to contest the "preposterous chargesheet" vigorously, alleging that "it does not speak well of the methods or motivations of the Delhi Police." "The Law officer made a statement in the Dehli High Court that they have not found anything against anyone and now in six months they say that I have abetted a suicide," he said, adding,"unbelievable." The Delhi Police had filed an FIR on January 1, 2015 against unknown persons under IPC section 302 (murder). Speaking on the issue, BJP leader Subramanian Swamy said: "All witnesses & documents were destroyed by UPA govt & corrupt police. On basis of current evidence, this is what could be done." "More information will come during the trial. There are allegations on Shashi Tharoor that he forced his wife to commit suicide," he added.

Sunanda Pushkar death: Delhi Police names Congress MP Shashi Tharoor in FIR