"Sanju Samson is always a scapegoat" - Furious fans slam Team India for benching Samson despite consistent performances

Sanju Samson averages 66 in ODI cricket. (P.C.:Twitter)
Sanju Samson averages 66 in ODI cricket. (P.C.:Twitter)

eam India have decided to leave out Sanju Samson for the second ODI against New Zealand at Seddon Park in Hamilton on Sunday (November 27).

It seemed pretty clear after the visitors lost their first game that they needed an extra bowling option. Deepak Hooda was expected to come into the playing XI as he bowls a bit of off-spin and will give captain Shikhar Dhawan that extra option to turn towards.

Apart from Samson, there were players like Rishabh Pant and Suryakumar Yadav who could also have been dropped for Hooda. However, the team management decided to drop the Kerala batter and this has enraged quite a few fans.

They slammed the Indian team for not giving Sanju Samson enough opportunities consistently and dropping him despite being consistent in the ODI format. One fan wrote:

"Sanju Samson is always a scapegoat #INDvsNZ"

Here are some of the reactions:


Sanju Samson has incredible numbers for Team india in ODIs

Although Sanju Samson hasn't been given enough chances in T20Is, he has been given the role of a finisher in ODIs when the Men in Blue have rested Hardik Pandya.

Coming in to bat at No. 5 and No. 6, Samson has already scored some handy cameos. He has amassed 330 runs from 10 innings, at a sensational average of 66.0. He scored 36 off 38 balls in the first ODI, providing some much-needed support to Shreyas Iyer and showed great maturity in the strike rotation.

The decision to drop him will likely spark a debate once again about whether Samson has been given enough chances to prove what he is capable of.

Meanwhile, India have got off to a decent start having asked to bat first and are 22/0 from 4.5 overs. Rain had stopped play at the time of writing.


India XI: Shikhar Dhawan (c), Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Washington Sundar, Deepak Chahar, Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal.

New Zealand XI: Finn Allen, Devon Conway, Kane Williamson (c), Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (wk), Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Michael Bracewell, Matt Henry, Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson.

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