"Well played BCCI" - Shocked fans question Virat Kohli and Sanju Samson's exclusion from India's T20I squad for West Indies series
Team India have rested big names like Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, and Yuzvendra Chahal for the T20I series against West Indies. On Thursday, The BCCI announced an 18-man squad for the three-match series, which will be played in the Caribbean, with Rohit Sharma leading the team.
India also seem to have made their intentions pretty clear about who they are looking at with respect to the T20 World Cup in about three months' time.
They require an off-spinning option and that's probably what has brought Ravichandran Ashwin back into India's T20I setup. Kuldeep Yadav and KL Rahul, who were both ruled out of the T20I series against the Proteas due to injury, have been included in the squad.
However, their availability will be subject to fitness, the BCCI said on their official Twitter handle.
Rohit Sharma (C), I Kishan, KL Rahul*, Suryakumar Yadav, D Hooda, S Iyer, D Karthik, R Pant, H Pandya, R Jadeja, Axar Patel, R Ashwin, R Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav*, B Kumar, Avesh Khan, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh.
*Inclusion of KL Rahul & Kuldeep Yadav is subject to fitness.
Sanju Samson, who scored 77 in the last T20I he played, is a notable exclusion from the squad as is Rahul Tripathi. The latter didn't get an opportunity to play despite making the squad against Ireland. Speedster Umran Malik too couldn't hold onto his place after a poor outing against England.
Fans on Twitter were baffled to see some of the exclusions made by the BCCI. They slammed the board for their lack of transparency with respect to selecting the likes of Shreyas Iyer over Kohli and Samson.
One fan wrote:
"Well played @BCCI. One thing is almost clear that Sanju won't be there in the plane to Australia despite doing nothing wrong."
Another user tweeted:
"Calling this a rest for Virat Kohli is a farce. What is the official message? Or is there even one?"
Here are some more reactions to the news:
Ideally, you would want to players like Sanju Samson in the T20s. Ignoring him for Shreyas Iyer is beyond cricketing rationale #DoddaMathu #CricketTwitter #WIvIND
BCCI should really hold a PC and answer these baffling decisions -
Why is Kohli not in the squad
Why is Iyer in the squad
What happened to Sanju
Why are we not having a new captain for this series
What wrong did Sanju Samson do to not get a place in the t20I team?
Don't know , bcci select team on which basis , current form, technique or what 😞
#JusticeForSanjusamson https://t.co/gsaUNPwbZQ
Now,team india is not selecting players based on form or scoring runs. They are only selecting favourite people of BCCI leaders. Sanju Samson scored 77 in last t20i and 134 in last 3 t20i.Sanju is one of the best pace/shortball hitters in the country.
#justiceforSanjuSamson https://t.co/QakXGa7qpJ
Feeling sad for Sanju Samson ☹️ yet another series where he could have been selected but it looks like he is definitely not in India's plans for World T20 🙃
RETWEET THIS TWEET IF YOU BELIEVE HE DESERVES OPPORTUNITY 😤 https://t.co/WPyeCDUpmZ
Calling this a rest for Virat Kohli is a farce. What is the official message? Or is there even one?
Part time cricketer. Full time weightlifter.
Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Yuzvendra Chahal not part of India's squad for West Indies T20s as they are rested and it seems like there place is secured for T20 World Cup 🙃
Mark my words;
It is India's loss if we head to Australia without Sanju Samson!
Chahal has been rested hopefully.
If he's dropped and Ashwin is the replacement than Dravid should be sacked.
#INDvsWI twitter.com/BCCI/status/15…
I wish Virat Kohli should have kept his captaincy, nothing going in his way, he just played one test and two T20Is after IPL now only god knows the purpose of the rest here.
#ViratKohli
@BCCI Tripathi ko bhi le jate...
twitter.com/BCCI/status/15… https://t.co/lbyHMKpxqM
Bumrah, Kohli & even Chahal rested. Why are Ashwin & Shreyas Iyer there?
No complaints about the rest! twitter.com/BCCI/status/15…
How does Shreyas Iyer keep frauding his way into the squad everytime twitter.com/BCCI/status/15…
No Sanju Samson and why 5 spinners 🙁🙁 twitter.com/BCCI/status/15…
What was Rahul Tripathi’s fault? twitter.com/bcci/status/15…
God gives his toughest battles to his strongest soldiers , get well soon @imVkohli twitter.com/BCCI/status/15…
Well played @BCCI
One thing is almost clear that Sanju won't be there in the plane to Australia despite doing nothing wrong. twitter.com/BCCI/status/15…
I really feel sorry for Venkatesh Iyer, he really played good knocks for India and everyone was excited to see him as the new all-rounder for India. Just because he had a bad IPL he was ignored and now even dropped from the team. I hope he bounces back soon. @venkateshiyer twitter.com/BCCI/status/15…
Interesting to see if a backup will be flown if Rahul isn't fit. Seems clear that they've shelved the Umran experiment for the near future (T20 WC). Ashwin as a defensive second spinner is a good option to have but I'm still on the fence with Kuldeep #WIvIND twitter.com/BCCI/status/15…
Ruturaj Dropped, Umran Dropped Thank God !! twitter.com/BCCI/status/15…
Umran won’t be going to Aus, it’s good, still needs a couple of years of development twitter.com/bcci/status/15…
Some loud and clear messages:-
1) Sanju Samson & Umran Malik are not in plans for World Cup.
2) DK has to score otherwise he is the next casualty.
3) Team looking for an off-spinner too.
4) Virat will play T-20 World Cup 101% team trusts him.
5) Reunion of KulCha is welcomed. twitter.com/BCCI/status/15…
King Kohli era is vanishing slowly slowly 🙂
#ViratKohli twitter.com/BCCI/status/15… https://t.co/oxJdyLYkvo
Honestly, would rather take a groin-injured, hopping on one leg, non performing, specialist cheerleader Virat to Australia than Iyer. twitter.com/BCCI/status/15…
twitter.com/BCCI/status/15…Arsh picked ahead of Umran✔️
No Samson ❌ twitter.com/BCCI/status/15…
Rohit really lied through his teeth about “backing” and y’all did long ass appreciation threads on him ffs I’m so done. And what on actual earth is Ashwin doing here? twitter.com/bcci/status/15…
Should've tried Rahul Tripathi & Sanju Samson for Kishan & Iyer. Rest is perfect. Kohli rested. Sundar & Krunal are playing in Royal London Cup. Shahbaz would be a good option for Axar. twitter.com/BCCI/status/15…
Samson is way better T20 player than Iyer, selectors still don't know how to differentiate between ODis and T20s. twitter.com/BCCI/status/15…
me and my bois going to question Ganguly for Kohli's exclusion twitter.com/BCCI/status/15… https://t.co/hhNbsuq78J
Yuzi Chahal dropped after all that they promised. What an incompetent bunch. India needs to look beyond him but his recent performances were good, this means they accepted selecting him in the first place was wrong. Ashwin back out of the blue. twitter.com/BCCI/status/15…
No @yuzi_chahal ?? Is this a joke? What on earth is happening with Team India selection off late? The WC is just few months away and you don't pick your best spinner for a 5 match series of that same format?! Is another repeat of the 2021 WC selection disaster about to happen?!! twitter.com/BCCI/status/15…
twitter.com/BCCI/status/15…🥹 Nothing is Permanent 🚶 twitter.com/BCCI/status/15… https://t.co/yMCt56qOJ3
KL Rahul back in the mix is a great news. Hope he’s fully fit. Samson should’ve been there #CricketTwitter #WIvIND twitter.com/bcci/status/15…
Thoda backing to main bhi deserve karta hun yaar
#sanjusamson https://t.co/RE9Ypbt9OT
India's squad for the T20Is vs West Indies
The BCCI announced the squad for the series against the West Indies with the following tweet:
"Rohit Sharma (C), I Kishan, KL Rahul*, Suryakumar Yadav, D Hooda, S Iyer, D Karthik, R Pant, H Pandya, R Jadeja, Axar Patel, R Ashwin, R Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav*, B Kumar, Avesh Khan, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh. *Inclusion of KL Rahul & Kuldeep Yadav is subject to fitness."
The likes of Arshdeep Singh and Deepak Hooda are likely to play in all games with some of the big names absent. They have a golden opportunity to make a strong case and seal a berth in India's T20 World Cup squad.