India’s three-match T20I series against Zimbabwe saw some senior players miss out, and Sanju Samson was one of them. Some fans were disappointed with the BCCI selectors for not including the wicketkeeper-batter. In the England T20I series that took place before the games against Zimbabwe, Samson was dropped after the first game to make way for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in the playing XI. As Sooryavanshi failed in three consecutive innings, Samson replaced the 15-year-old in the fifth and final T20I against the Three Lions. However, the right-handed batter was not named in the squad for the Zimbabwe T20Is.
Former India player Deep Dasgupta said that Samson’s absence from the Zimbabwe T20I series was a result of the rotation policy. He backed his opinion by pointing out the absence of Axar Patel.
“Even Axar Patel wasn’t there for the Zimbabwe series. He’s probably India’s No. 1 T20I spinner, yet why are there no questions about his absence?” asked Dasgupta on his YouTube channel.
Axar played all five T20Is in England. He took a total of five wickets. The all-rounder shone in the third T20I with a four-wicket haul and an unbeaten fifty (57).
Backing his logic further, Deep Dasgupta said, “Unfortunately, only two openers can play. So this wasn’t Sanju being rested or dropped. It was done as a trial to see which of the three opening combinations works best. There are even other options like Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Prabhsimran Singh and Priyansh Arya that they’ve not tried.”
However, the former India wicketkeeper said that Samson should have been given more games in England. He played the first and fifth T20Is, scoring 5 and 27, respectively.
“Sanju should have played more in the previous series against England. It’s important to give the 25 to 30 players in the reckoning for the next big tournament as much game time as possible. That’s the best way to form the ideal 15 just before a tournament,” Dasgupta concluded.
Sooryavanshi cashed in on the opportunity he got against Zimbabwe by scoring two fifties in three matches. The southpaw scored 151 runs, bagging the Player of the Series award, apart from the Player of the Match honour in the last game.
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