Sanju Samson
Cricket: When the ODI squad for the Australian tour was announced, and the update that star batter from Kerala, Sanju Samson, was not included in the 15-member squad, while youngster Dhruv Jurel was included, widespread criticism arose from many quarters. The Malayalee batter is getting snubbed after hitting a century in 2023 in a series decider in South Africa, which was his last ODI innings.
However, chief selector Ajith Agarkar claimed on Saturday that it was more about positions and not players. According to Agarkar, Sanju bats at the top order, but the top positions are filled. Reasoning his choice of Jurel, Agarkar said that Jurel plays low down the order where Sanju cannot be admitted. Sanju was not included because he doesn’t think “there is room at the top again,” he said. He added that they are looking for guys who can fit in spots.
He furthered that Sanju is added to the T20I squad, but ODI is “a little bit different”.
Former Indian chairman of selectors, Kris Srikkanth, criticised the current selectors for leaving Sanju.
Srikkanth said on YouTube, “Again, very unfair. Sanju should have been there, considering he scored a century in his last ODI. So everyday the reason keeps changing for each individual. One day you make him bat at 5, then another day you make him open. Sometimes you send him at 7 or 8. How did Dhruv Jurel suddenly come in? Sanju may or may not feature in the 11, but he has to be given the first right of refusal.”
In the Asia Cup, Sanju batted in the middle order. He was kept juggling through the middle order during the entire tournament, from number three to even number eight. This, however, contradicts Agarkar’s position arguments.