Gambhir’s old ‘Samson not playing for India, not his loss rather India's' video surfaces after Champions Trophy snub
Gautam Gambhir's old video of praising Sanju Samson is going viral after the latter was not picked in India's Champions Trophy squad.
Sanju Samson might have scored a century in the last ODI that he played. Still, selectors opted to pick Rishabh Pant ahead of the right-handed batter as the second wicketkeeper after KL Rahul in the squad for the three ODIs against England and the Champions Trophy.
Samson, whose last ODI appearance came in December 2023 against South Africa, has been in smashing form in the white-ball formats. He has scored three centuries in the last five T20Is he has played.
Samson has a remarkable ODI average as well. In the 16 matches he has played for India, he averages 56.66 and has a strike rate of 99.60. In his last ODI for the country, the 30-year-old played a knock of 108 runs against South Africa in Paarl.
India head coach Gautam Gambhir is seen as someone who likes Sanju Samson's talent. Ever since he took over the reins, the right-handed batter from Kerala has gotten a consistent run in T20Is for India.
However, ever since the squad was announced for the Champions Trophy, an old video clip of Gambhir from 2020 has been going viral, where he famously remarked, ‘If Sanju Samson doesn’t play for India, it's not his loss rather the team's."
“You know what if Sanju Samson is not going to play for India, it's not Sanju Samson's loss. It is actually India's loss, and I hope Sanju Samson is backed the same way Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have been backed. You are losing out on a talent which probably be the No.1 batter in the future,” Gambhir had told ESPNCricinfo in September 2020.
‘We haven’t backed him'
While speaking to ESPNCricinfo in 2020, Gambhir discussed how the selectors and management were not backing Sanju Samson.
“Unfortunately, we haven't backed him till now. People sitting in those big rooms, the selection committee should be scratching their hair 'Why wasn't Sanju Samson part of the T20 team or the last World Cup?',” Gambhir said.
Fans on social media are now calling out Gambhir for not staying true to his word and not picking Samson in the Champions Trophy squad despite the right-handed batter being in good form.
Samson is also in trouble with the Kerala State Cricket Association (KSCA) after the 30-year-old did not play in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
KSCA President Jayesh George slammed Samson after the latter's Vijay Hazare Trophy miss was considered to be one of the main reasons behind him not being picked in India's Champions Trophy squad.
Samson had skipped Kerala's three-day preparatory camp ahead of the Vijay Hazare Trophy, and he was then not picked in the squad.
Despite the ODI snub, Sanju Samson was recently named in India's squad for the upcoming five-match T20I series against England, which begins on January 22 in Kolkata.
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