Wicketkeeper-fielder Sanju Samson will be available for the upcoming matches of Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25 in Kerala. Samson has confirmed that he will be available for the tournament after initially being left out of the squad.
Vijay Hazare Trophy is a prestigious domestic tournament of over 50 in India. This is an important tournament as Samson looks for a place in India’s squad for the 2025 Champions Trophy.
Though Samson has confirmed his availability, the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) is yet to decide whether to include him in the squad. KCA secretary Vinod S Kumar gave a status update on his presence.
Sanju Samson is available for the upcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy matches
Speaking to The Indian Express, KCA Secretary Vinod S Kumar informed that Sanju Samson could be available for the rest of the tournament. However, he also said that the panel has yet to make a call on his selection.
“Sanju told us that he is available for selection in the last two days. We have not yet made a call for his entry. Hyderabad already has a full contingent and only two games have been played,” said Kumar.
Vinod S Kumar also reported that big-hitting Sachin Baby is still unavailable as he continues to recover from an injury sustained during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy tournament.
Kerala have lost one of their two matches so far. They lost their first game by 62 runs in Baroda where they went for a mammoth score of 403 runs in the first innings. The second match against Madhya Pradesh was exciting before rain washed away the game.
Why was Sanju Samson left out of the Kerala squad?
Earlier, Sanju Samson was left out of Kerala’s preliminary squad for the Vijay Hazare Trophy as he could not attend the team’s pre-tournament training camp. The selectors decided to pick the team by looking at the camp and dropped Samson.
Samson recently led Kerala in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, where he scored 136 runs in five matches at an average of 27.20 and a strike rate of 149.45. However, he made himself unavailable in the team’s training camp ahead of the Vijay Hazare Trophy. In his absence, Salman Nizar was named Kerala’s captain for the 50-over tournament.
Sanju Samson is eyeing a place in India’s Champions Trophy squad
Sanju Samson has been in brilliant form with the bat for India in the T20I format. Scored three hundreds in his last five T20I matches against Bangladesh and South Africa. All of his hundreds of men arrived as they opened fire.
If Samson gets an opportunity in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, he will aim to make India’s Champions Trophy squad with months to go. He has a good ODI record of 510 runs in 16 matches at an average of 56.66 and a strike rate of 99.60.
His maiden international hundred came in an ODI during India’s tour of South Africa, where he smashed an unbeaten 108 to lead his team to a 78-run win over the hosts.
