Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) president Jayesh George has hit out at Indian national cricket team batsman Sanju Samson for sending them a one-off message about his unavailability for the 30-member preparatory camp. He said he was not sure if not playing in the 2024-25 Vijay Hazare Trophy was the reason for his exclusion from the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy.
The Indian national cricket team has named its squad for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. One of the notable absences was Sanju Samson as the team went with KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant as the two wicketkeepers in the squad for the tournament which will be played in a hybrid model.
Sanju Samson’s exclusion came as a surprise as many expected him to be the second keeper for CT
Samson’s exclusion came as a surprise as many expected him to be the second wicket-keeper in the team due to his heroics in white-ball cricket in recent times. He looked golden in 2024, hitting four T20I centuries while opening the batting.
Also with his ODI average of over 55, he was expected to be there in the team. But that was not the case and there is a school of thought that he was not included in the team as he did not play Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25 for Kerala.
Sanju Samson wanted to play in the 2024-25 Vijay Hazare Trophy but was unable to attend the camp and Kerala picked a team without him.
The reason Vijay Hazare was not included in the squad is because he sent a one-line message – KCA President Jayesh George
KCA Cricket Association (KCA) president Jayesh George was asked if Sanju Samson is not playing in the 2024-25 Vijay Hazare Trophy. was the reason for his exclusion from the ICC Champions Trophy. He spoke about the reasons why the batsman was not named in the home team, saying he sent a one-off mail.
He also mentioned that they were confident that Sanju Samson will play Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25 as he is the white ball captain. In an interview with MediaOne, he explained:
“I am not sure if Samson’s absence from the tournament is the reason why he was excluded. The reason he wasn’t added to Vijay Hazare’s squad was because he sent a one-line text saying he wouldn’t be available for the 30-man preparatory camp.
“We were all under the impression that he would lead the team since he is our captain with the white ball and he led in the SMAT season as well.”
Be it Sanju Samson or any other player, KCA has a policy that must be followed – Jayesh George
Jayesh George added that Sanju Samson later mailed them for his availability, but they had already announced the line-up. He attacked the forward, saying that while he didn’t want to be part of the team, he couldn’t just represent the team when he wanted to. He elaborated:
“So we went ahead and announced the squad and later he sent a message saying he was available for selection. Be it Sanju Samson or any other player, KCA has a policy that must be followed.
“We all know that Sanju doesn’t need a camp to make the team, but is the Kerala team one that he can come and represent only when he feels like it? How did Samson get to the Indian team, only through KCA. That doesn’t mean that you only show up when you feel for the Kerala team.”
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