‘What does he need to do?’: Shashi Tharoor questions Sanju Samson exclusion after Suryakumar Yadav’s flop show

Shashi Tharoor, a prominent politician hailing from Kerala, has recently spoken out in support of Sanju Samson. This comes after Suryakumar Yadav suffered the misfortune of three consecutive golden ducks during the recently concluded ODI series against Australia. 

In the series decider, Ashton Agar proved to be too much for the Mumbai batter, while Mitchell Starc had already dismissed him twice in the first two games with LBW. It is evident that the Mumbai batter struggled against the Australian bowling attack throughout the series.

“Now that poor @surya_14kumar has set an unenviable world record w/his three golden ducks in a row, is it unreasonable to ask why @IamSanjuSamson , averaging 66 in ODIs despite batting at an unfamiliar position for him at 6, wasn’t in the squad? What does he need to do?,” Tharoor tweeted.

Now that poor @surya_14kumar has set an unenviable world record w/ his three golden ducks in a row, is it unreasonable to ask why @IamSanjuSamson, averaging averaging 66 in ODIs despite batting at an unfamiliar position for him at 6, wasn’t in the squad? What does he need to do?
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) March 23, 2023

Sanju Samson last played for Team India during the three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka in January at home. Unfortunately, he was forced to sit out the last two T20Is due to a left knee injury sustained while attempting to field a ball near the boundary ropes during the first T20I in Mumbai. 

Despite this setback, Samson has represented Team India in 11 ODIs, scoring an impressive 330 runs at an average of 66. His talent and skill on the field are undeniable, and he is a valuable asset to the team.

In comparison, Yadav has scored 433 runs in 23 ODIs at an average of 24.06. However, in 2023, he has only managed to score 49 runs in seven ODIs at an average of 8.17. While Yadav has shown potential in the past, his recent performance has been lackluster.

Sanju Samson has been announced as the captain of the Rajasthan Royals for the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). As a wicketkeeper-batter, Samson had an impressive performance last year, amassing 458 runs in 17 games at a strike rate of 146.79. This helped RR finish as the runner-up in the tournament. 

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