Amid KL Rahul debate, Shashi Tharoor questions Sanju Samson’s omission from India’s ODI squad

The debate over KL Rahul, his merit, and his continued inclusion in the Indian team has ignited a never-ending debate between netizens and many cricket experts. Rahul currently finds himself in murky waters after disappointing outings against the Aussies in the ongoing Border Gavaskar Trophy. Despite Rahul’s continuous failures, skipper Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid have been vocal about how they are willing to back India’s ex vice-captain and it seems that it has infuriated people even more.

On Sunday, February 19, 2022, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the Indian squad for the remaining two IND vs AUS Test matches and the three-match ODI series. Two major decisions caught everybody’s attention. Firstly KL Rahul was relieved of his vice-captaincy duties and secondly, Sanju Samson was not included in India’s ODI squad. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has been an ardent admirer of Sanju’s prowess with the bat and this decision has left a bad taste in his mouth. Tharoor has a reputation for not mincing words and this time around too he did the same thing.

Tharoor’s tweet for Samson reads:

And what about @IamSanjuSamson? Averaging 76 in ODIs and yet again omitted from the ODI squad against Australia. It’s all very well to give non-performers a long rope but surely not at the expense of talented performers?

Sanju Samson over the years has failed to cement his spot in the Indian cricket team. The Indian wicketkeeper-batsman who made his ODI debut for India in the year 2021 has played 11 matches and has scored 330 runs. Samson with a strike rate of 104.76 has also scored two fifties.

India’s ODI squad for the Australia series: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya (Vice-captain), Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umran Malik, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Jaydev Unadkat

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India’s squad for the remaining two Tests against Australia: Rohit Sharma (captain), KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, KS Bharat (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat

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