3 reasons why Sanju Samson's absence from India's World Cup and Asian Games squad is so controversial

Sanju Samson’s selection or non-selection in the Indian team has always been a matter of big debate. He has a huge fan base and his admirers do not back down from expressing their views over the Kerala keeper-batter, who also captains the Rajasthan Royals (RR) franchise in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

The 28-year-old is in the news again after being snubbed for the three-match ODI series against Australia at home. Earlier, he was not picked in the 15-member squad for the World Cup as well and was named as a backup for KL Rahul during the Asia Cup.

Rather shockingly, there is no place for Samson in the Indian squad that will be featuring in the 2023 Asian Games as well. Jitesh Sharma and Prabhsimran Singh have been picked as the keeper-batters in the squad, which will be led by Ruturaj Gaikwad.

In the wake of Samson being snubbed yet again, we look at three reasons why his absence from India's World Cup and Asian Games squad is rather controversial.

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#1 He deserved a chance ahead of Suryakumar Yadav in the World Cup squad

Suryakumar Yadav keeps finding a place in ODIs despite repeated failures.

If we look at Team India’s 15-member World Cup squad, it goes without saying that KL Rahul deserves the keeper-batter’s slot ahead of Samson. Ishan Kishan too has proved his worth in the opportunities that he has been given and has earned his place in the team.

However, it is equally true that, based on performance, Samson deserves a place in the World Cup squad ahead of Suryakumar Yadav.

If we compare the ODI records of the two batters, Samson has scored 390 runs in 12 innings at an average of 55.71, with three half-centuries. Even if we take away the fact that he has five not-outs, which has inflated his average, three fifties in 12 innings is still a pretty good conversion rate, particularly considering the amount of pressure he has been under to retain his spot in the team.

In contrast, Suryakumar has played 25 ODI innings and has only managed 537 runs at an extremely poor average of 24.40, with only two half-centuries. His second fifty came in February 2022 and he hasn’t scored more than 35 runs in his last 19 ODI innings.

The numbers make it pretty clear as to who between the two should be in the World Cup squad and who shouldn’t.

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#2 There was no reason not to pick Sanju Samson in the Asian Games squad

Jitesh Sharma (in the picture) and Prabhsimran Singh are the keeper-batters in the Asian Games squad. (Pic: Jitesh Sharma/ Instagram)

Now, if one assumes that Samson was left out of the World Cup squad because more than two wicketkeeper-batters were not needed, there was no reason to leave him out of the Asian Games squad. He definitely deserved a place there.

With all due respect to some of the other players picked in the Asian Games squad, Samson definitely should have been ahead of them. In fact, he could even have been a good candidate to lead the team given his IPL experience with RR although Gaikwad is also not a bad choice.

Once it was clear that there was no place for Samson in the ODI World Cup squad, he should have been in the Asian Games squad. There are no two ways about the fact that he deserved to be in the team.

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#3 The way he has been treated has been hugely disappointing

Sanju Samson has been constantly in and out of the Indian team.

There have been a few players in Indian cricket’s history that have been treated rather unfairly. Samson would believe that he is one of them. And we are referring specifically to his ODI career.

There is no doubt about the fact that he has been a huge disappointment in the T20I format. He has played 21 T20I innings so far but has only managed 374 runs at a poor average of 19.68, with just one fifty - a best of 77.

Having said that, his T20I numbers cannot be considered as the reason for his axing from the ODI squad. It’s rather bizarre that Suryakumar is retained in the one-day team on the basis of his T20I exploits, but Samson cannot find a place even though he has done well in the format.

With seniors like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Hardik Pandya rested for the first two ODIs against Australia, the selectors had a chance to try out Samson one last time before the World Cup. Inexplicably, but not surprisingly, they decided against it.