Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) official revealed why Sanju Samson did not feature in Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25. He admitted that the goalkeeper was very interested in participating in the tournament, but he was not at the camp, so they decided to give the young man a chance.
With India’s ICC Champions Trophy 2025 squad yet to be named, Sanju Samson’s name is doing rounds all over the internet. He is one of the goalkeepers who could be in the competition for the eight nations tournament, which will be played from February 19.
Sanju Samson to miss out on Indian squad as he misses Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25 – Reports
However, some reports suggest that Samson will not be given preference as he did not feature in the 2024-25 Vijay Hazare Trophy. It has been reported that the wicketkeeper has opted out of the tournament due to personal reasons and this could cost him a place in the Indian squad for the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy.
However, in a drastic turn of events, KCA secretary Vinod S Kumar revealed that Samson wanted to play in the 2024-25 Vijay Hazare Trophy. and even expressed his desire to play. However, he mentioned that the right-hander was not at the camp.
We thought of trying the youngsters instead of them – confirmed KCA official Sanju Samson who wanted to play VHT
According to him, Samson sent them a two-line letter because of his unavailability for the camp. The official mentioned that even Sachin Baby was not available and since the two senior players were not there, they decided to go with the youngsters. Speaking to Onmanorama, he said:
“This is to inform you that I will not be available for the camp. And Sachin (Baby) was also not available due to injury. We were missing two senior players. So we thought of trying the youngsters instead.”
A KCA official mentioned that Sanju Samson had contacted the association ahead of Kerala’s opening match of the Vijaya Hazare Trophy against Baroda on December 23 to confirm his availability. However, he confirmed that they had already finalized the lineup then.
He noted that it would be unfair to remove the young man and include Sanju Samson in the team. He added:
“But by then the squad was finalised. It would be unfair to sacrifice a young man at that moment.”
Attending preparatory camps was not mandatory before – Sanju Samson was not happy that KCA did not select him
The same report stated that Samson was unhappy that the KCA did not select him for the 2024-25 Vijay Hazare Trophy. He emphasized that the goalkeeper always went to camps that were not mandatory before. he said:
“It was the norm for Sanju to join the Kerala camp when he was not on national duty. Attending preparatory camps was not mandatory before.”
Various media reports suggest that Sanju Samson will not be selected for the Indian team, but instead, youngster Dhruv Jurel is likely to be selected. Rishabh Pant was appointed as the first wicket keeper. Samson has so far scored 510 runs at an average of 56.66 in 16 ODIs. He scored a century in his last match, which came against South Africa in Paarl in December 2023.
