Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) president Jayesh George has slammed Indian National Cricket Team all-rounder Sanju Samson for sending them a one-liner after he failed to attend the 30-man training camp. He said he was not sure whether his failure to play in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25 had led to his exclusion from the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
Indian National Cricket Team has announced their squad for ICC Champions Trophy 2025. One notable omission was Sanju Samson as the team went with KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant as the two wicketkeepers in the squad for the tournament. hybrid model.
The exclusion of Sanju Samson came as a surprise as many expected him to be the second choice wicket keeper for CT.
Samson’s exclusion came as a surprise as many expected him to be the second-choice wicketkeeper in the team due to his heroics in white-ball cricket. He looked the golden touch in 2024, scoring four T20I centuries while opening the batting.
Also, since his ODI average is above 55, he was expected to be in the squad. However, this was not the case and there is a school of thought that he was not included in the squad for Kerala as he did not play Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25.
Sanju Samson wanted to play in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25 but he failed to attend the camp and Kerala selected the team without him.
The reason he was not added to Vijay Hazare’s team was because he sent a one-line text – KCA president Jayesh George
KCA Cricket Association (KCA) president Jayesh George was asked if Sanju Samson’s failure to play in the 2024-25 Vijay Hazare Trophy was the reason for his rejection of the ICC Champions Trophy. He said that he sent a one-liner mail, talking about the reasons why the name of the mortician was not mentioned in the local team.
He also mentioned that they are confident that Sanju Samson will play in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25 as he is the captain of the white ball. Speaking to MediaOne, he explained:
“I am not sure that the reason why Samson is out of the tournament is because he missed the tournament. The reason he was not included in Vijay Hazare’s squad was because he sent a one-line text stating that he would not participate in the 30-man training camp.
“We were all under the impression that he would lead the team because he is our white ball captain and he led during the SMAT season as well.”
Be it Sanju Samson or any other player, KCA has a policy to be respected – Jayesh George
Jayesh George added that Sanju Samson later mailed them for his availability but they have already announced the squad. Although he is not camped to be a part of the team, he beat the goalkeeper by saying that he cannot represent the team only when he wants to. He elaborated:
“So we went ahead and announced the squad and then he sent a message saying he was available for selection. Be it Sanju Samson or any other player, KCA has a policy that should be respected.
“We all know that Sanju doesn’t need a camp to make the squad, but the Kerala team is a team he can come and represent only when he feels like it? How did Samson make it to the Indian team, it was only through KCA. That doesn’t mean you you will appear only when you want to join the Kerala team.”
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