"Rarely has success in India colours mattered so little" - Shashi Tharoor on Sanju Samson & Abhishek Sharma's selection snubs for Sri Lanka tour
Veteran politician Shashi Tharoor seemed unimpressed by the national selectors' decision to leave out Sanju Samson from India's ODI squad for the upcoming Sri Lanka tour. He also expressed his displeasure over Abhishek Sharma's exclusion from the T20I roster.
Taking to the microblogging platform X, Tharoor pointed out that while Abhishek hit a century against Zimbabwe in his debut series, Samson also notched up a ton in his most recent ODI appearance. He wrote:
"Interesting squad selection for India’s tour of Sri Lanka later this month. @IamSanjuSamson, who hit a century in his last ODI, has not been picked for ODIs, while @IamAbhiSharma4, who hit a T20I century in the #INDvZIM series, has not been picked at all. Rarely has success in India colours mattered so little to the selectors! Good luck to the team anyway."
Sanju Samson last played an ODI for India in December 2023, where he scored 108 runs off 114 balls against South Africa. While the keeper-batter missed out on a spot in the ODI team, he was named in the lineup for the T20I games.
Abhishek Sharma, on the other hand, didn't find a place in any of the teams, despite impressing many with his blistering 100-run knock in just 47 balls in the second T20I of the recently concluded five-match series against Zimbabwe.
"Why him always?" - Dodda Ganesh on Sanju Samson's absence from India's ODI squad
Former Indian cricketer Dodda Ganesh quested the selectors' decision to give the nod to Shivam Dube over Sanju Samson for the upcoming three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka.
He suggested that Samson had been unlucky, as he couldn't retain his place in the 50-over team despite scoring a century in his last match. Ganesh wrote on X:
"Shivam Dube in place of Sanju Samson in the ODIs is ridiculous. Poor Sanju scored a century in his last series against SA. Why him always? My heart goes out to this young man."
The three-match T20I series between India and Sri Lanka will begin at Pallekele on July 27, while the ODI series opener will be played in Colombo on August 2.