New Delhi: Even after another glorious IPL season, Sanju Samson has not been included in Team India by the BCCI for the upcoming domestic T20 series against South Africa. Interestingly, even in the jumbo squad of 18 players, the selection committee did not see Sanju fit anywhere. There are no two opinions that Sanju has been one of the players who have scored consistent runs in the IPL for the last few seasons, and is fully entitled to be a part of the T20 setup.
Sanju has been an extremely impressive player with a clear approach in the IPL season so far. He has maintained his dominance in the middle orders, and statistics show that while batting during the middle overs, Sanju has scored 815 runs in 31 innings at a strike rate of 156.13. It should not forget that he has enjoyed the challenges of the death overs and created a sensation by scoring 45 off 20 balls at a strike rate of 225 as a memorable innings.
Since 2020, Sanju has retained his clout in the top 3 on the run charts in T20 cricket, Samson is second on the charts with a best strike rate of 154.39, with 474 runs from his 30 innings. He has so far scored three centuries (119, 102*, and 102) and 16 fifties. As far as this entire IPL season is concerned, Samson has scored 298 runs at an average of 33.11 and a superb strike rate of 153.60, thus becoming the second-highest run-scorer in Rajasthan. Statistics show that he is a dependable player. Sanju has led his team to victory on his own many times. Known as the 'best batsman in India', Samson has from time to time proved his ability to play under pressure with his tremendous and relentless innings against the opposing team.
Just a few days ago, Rohit Sharma had praised Samson's batting on how everyone is enthusiastic to watch his innings. Rohit had even said that he feels Samson's "ability to make shots" in Australia during the T20 World Cup later this year could prove to be very important. They have the best back-foot game, and their shots, especially the pick-up pull, the cut shot, standing up and getting the bowler across the boundary over the head, is really fantastic. The grounds in Australia are best suited to play these kinds of dramatic shots, and Samson really possesses these qualities. It is not easy to play such shots and hence Samson is considered important for the team. It is very sad to see such an exceptional player withdraw from Team India at this crucial time.
Soon after the BCCI's announcement, fans, supporters and critics like Harsha Bhogle took to Twitter to express their disappointment and asked why a brilliant player like Samson was not picked. Social media users flooded the BCCI's comment section and raised questions as to why Samson was not given a place in the team. The decision on this issue can only be taken by the BCCI, but given the kind of talent that Sanju Samson has and the way he is performing, he had to be given a chance in Team India.
Today IPL 2022 will get the first finalist, Rajasthan Royals will take on Gujarat Titans