(IPL Credit)
In his recent ODI outing against South Africa in Paarl on December 21, 2023, Sanju Samson marked his spot with a century for India. However, despite this impressive performance, he found himself excluded from India’s 15-member squad for the upcoming three-match series against Sri Lanka, scheduled to be led by Rohit Sharma on August 2, 4, and 7.
Interestingly, the squad includes Rishabh Pant, who has been absent from ODIs since November 2022, and KL Rahul, both expected to feature prominently in India’s playing XI. Samson’s omission raised eyebrows among fans and former cricketers alike, given his recent role as India’s backup wicketkeeper-batter during the 2024 T20 World Cup and his commendable ODI record.
As per a recent ESPNCricinfo report on Sunday (July 21), the comeback of KL Rahul was cited as the key factor behind Sanju Samson’s omission from the ODI squad. Looking ahead, Samson could encounter stiff competition from a fellow Rajasthan Royals teammate, highly regarded as a backup wicketkeeper in all formats of the game.
“While the selectors have named both Pant and Rahul as wicketkeepers for the ODI leg of the Sri Lanka tour, Dhruv Jurel, who made his India debut during the England Test series earlier this year, is understood to be seen as the main backup keeper across formats. Rahul’s return is also the reason Sanju Samson could not find a spot in the 50-overs squad for the Sri Lanka series, despite having scored a century in his most recent ODI,” an ESPNCricinfo report stated.
Following his notable contributions in the final three Tests of the India-England series earlier this year, Jurel was rewarded with his maiden call-up to India’s T20I squad in July 2024 for the five-match series versus Zimbabwe. He made his T20I debut in the series opener at Harare Sports Club on July 6, where he managed to score just six runs. However, he did not have an opportunity to bat in the second T20I, which India convincingly won by 100 runs at Harare on July 7.
