Former India opener Sadagoppan Ramesh has put forward a pointed theory about Sanju Samson’s omission from the national T20I side: that the batter’s displays at the T20 World Cup are a big reason chief selector Ajit Agarkar still holds his job.
Samson was left out of the XI for the second T20I against England, with teenager Vaibhav Sooryavanshi taking his place, and he was then not picked for the Zimbabwe tour, where Prabhsimran Singh was chosen as the wicketkeeper-batter.
Ramesh’s argument
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ramesh said Agarkar’s contract was set to run out in June, but India’s title triumph at the World Cup helped him obtain an extension. In Ramesh’s view, Samson was among the biggest contributors to that success, which made dropping the Player of the Tournament only three matches later look especially unkind.
During the knockout stages Samson produced scores of 97 not out against the West Indies, 89 against England and 89 against New Zealand, as India defended their crown.
Three low scores in focus
Ramesh asked how a trio of modest returns, 5, 0 and 1, across the Ireland series and the first T20I against England could outweigh that body of work. He added that two of those failures came in games where the whole batting group struggled, so judging a proven performer on three innings was unfair.
He also praised Samson’s attitude in the semi-final and final. According to Ramesh, the batter had the opportunity to reach hundreds in both games but chose to serve the team rather than chase personal milestones, and such players deserve support.
With the debate over India’s T20 selection growing louder, Samson’s absence is likely to remain one of the main talking points before the Zimbabwe series begins.
