"India already had two wicketkeepers"- Harbhajan Singh explains why Sanju Samson is not in India's plans for the World Cup

Former Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh feels Sanju Samson is unlucky to miss out in the Indian squad for the ODIs against Australia as well as the World Cup next month.

There has been a lot of outrage on social media about Samson's snub despite the right-hander having a sensational average of 55.71 in ODIs. However, Harbhajan tried to explain why Samson is behind the likes of KL Rahul and Ishan Kishan in the pecking order when it comes to wicketkeepers.

In a video on his YouTube channel, here's what Harbhajan Singh had to say about Sanju Samson:

"Sanju Samson's exclusion has raised a lot of debates. If you average 55 in ODIs and still don't be a part of the squad then definitely that's strange. But I think Sanju wasn't selected because India already had two wicketkeepers KL Rahul and Ishan Kishan. Both are also a part of the World Cup squad."

He further added:

"Sanju will need to wait for his chance. I know it is difficult to accept sometimes and one can get disheartened. But age is on his side and I urge him to continue putting in the hard yards and wait for his time."

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You cannot field three wicketkeeper-batters: Harbhajan Singh on Sanju Samson

Harbhajan also claimed that he would personally select KL Rahul over Samson in ODIs, and with Ishan also impressing against Pakistan, he reckons it will be tough for the Kerala batter to also be in the scheme of things at the moment.

On this, the former cricketer stated:

"If I have to choose between KL Rahul and Sanju Samson, I would definitely select Rahul because of the stability he provides at No.4, No.5. Samson is also a good player and can hit sixes at will, but the situation now is such that you can't have three wicketkeeper-batters in a team. It will be difficult to field all of them in the XI."

Alongside Rahul and Ishan, the Men in Blue would also want to see Shreyas Iyer fire all cylinders against Australia in the ODI series beginning on September 22.