Sanju Samson had last played in an ODI in December 2023, where he scored a ton against South Africa.
A lot has been spoken about Sanju Samson’s absence from the Vijay Hazare Trophy, that might lead to his non-selection in the Indian team for the IND vs ENG ODIs and subsequently, the Champions Trophy 2025. All this after the right-hand batter slammed a ton in his last ODI for India, vs South Africa, in December 2023.
Sanju Samson Wrongly Accused for Missing Vijay Hazare
Earlier it was reported, that Sanju Samson was not picked for the VHT squad of Kerala, for missing the pre-tournament camp. But as per a fresh report in Onmanorama, the real story is far from the circulated version. The report suggests that the Kerala Cricket Association was already informed by the player that he won’t be available for the camp, yet chose to ignore him. Since they wanted certain youngsters to be part of the squad.
KCA Secretary Vinod S Kumar told Onmanorama that Sanju had sent them two mails. The first one read, “This is to inform you that I’ll not be available for the camp.”
Could Miss Out on Champions Trophy Squad
“But he did not specify any reasons,” Vinod said. “And Sachin (Baby) was also unavailable due to an injury. We were missing two senior players. So we thought of trying out youngsters in their place.” Post that, it is understood, that Sanju made it clear before Kerala’s first match against Baroda on Dec 23, that he wanted to play, but then nothing was done about it.
“But by then, the squad was finalised. It would have been unfair to sacrifice a youngster at that point,” Vinod said. But that of course left the player devastated and shocked. “It had been a norm that Sanju would join the Kerala camp when he was not away on national duty. Attending preparatory camps had not been mandatory before,” said the source.
Meanwhile, India squad for the Champions Trophy is to be announced on Jan 18 and 19, and most likely, Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul would be chosen for wicket-keeper roles. It would only take a miracle to have Sanju Samson in the squad.
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