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Sanju Samson‘s omission from India’s 15-man squad for the Champions Trophy 2025 has sparked a major debate within the cricketing community. Despite being in sensational form, scoring three centuries in his last five T20I innings and scoring a ton in his recent ODI outing against south africa in December 2024, Samson was overlooked by the selectors.
Shashi Tharoor criticizes KCA’s mismanagement
Shashi Tharoor, the Congress MP, has criticized publicly Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) for mishandling Samson’s case, blaming his rigid policies for his exclusion. Samson informed the KCA well in advance of his unavailability for a preparatory camp ahead of squad selection. However, the KCA enforced their rule that players must attend these camps, resulting in Samson’s exclusion from the squad. Tharoor pointed out that Samson’s omission from the team was mainly due to his absence from the team Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024where Kerala failed to reach the quarter finals.
“The unfortunate saga of the Kerala Cricket Association and Sanju Samson, the player wrote to KCA in advance, lamenting his inability to attend a training camp between the SMA and the Vijay Hazare Trophy tournaments, and was promptly dropped from the squad leading to Sanju’s exclusion from the Indian team.” Tharoor wrote on social media
Tharoor highlighted how the short-sightedness and rigid approach of the KCA has now led to the decline of Kerala cricket and the exclusion of Samson from a major ODI tournament. Tharoor raised pertinent questions, asking whether it was fair for the KCA to penalize a player of Samson’s caliber over administrative differences.
“A batsman who has a top score of 212* in Hazare, who averages 56.66 in ODIs for India (including a century in his last outing, against South Africa) is having the his career destroyed by egos of cricket administrators Doesn’t it bother the KCA bosses that by leaving out Sanju, they ensured that Kerala didn’t even make it to the Hazare quarter-finals? Where does that leave him?” Tharoor concluded.
The unfortunate saga of the Kerala Cricket Association and Sanju Samson — the player wrote to KCA, in advance, lamenting his inability to attend a training camp between the SMA and the Vijay Hazare Trophy tournaments, and was quickly removed from the team—it has now resulted in…
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) January 18, 2025
READ also: Ajit Agarkar reveals why Mohammed Siraj was not selected for Champions Trophy 2025
Sanju Samson’s recent form and achievements
Samson, who has captained Kerala in several domestic tournaments, has been in incredible form of late. He led Kerala to the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024where his team won four out of six games but narrowly missed out on qualification for the knockouts. Samson also scored two centuries during India’s T20I tour of South Africa in November 2024, showing that his form in the shortest format remains formidable.
His consistent performances in ODIs and T20Is have kept him on the selectors’ radar, but his lack of participation in the Vijay Hazare Trophy ultimately cost him a chance to make the Champions Trophy squad. Despite his excellent record, including his century in the last ODI against South Africa and outstanding performances in domestic tournaments, the management was inclined to select Rishabh Pant, who featured prominently in the Cup World T20 2024, instead of Samson.
Samson’s future with the Indian team
Although Samson is still part of the Indian T20I squad for the upcoming five-match series against Englandfrom January 22 in Kolkata, their omission from the Champions Trophy highlights the precarious position they find themselves in. His absence from the Vijay Hazare Trophy has now become a crucial factor in his exclusion, and his fate in future ODIs remains uncertain unless the KCA resolves the situation and gives him a fair chance to perform.
