Shashi Tharoor Said This On Sanju Samson’s Exclusion From India’s ODI Squad

Shashi Tharoor expressed his views on the recent exclusion of Sanju Samson from India’s ODI squad for the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka. Tharoor, a noted cricket enthusiast, voiced his concerns about the selection criteria.

“Interesting squad selection for India’s tour of Sri Lanka later this month. Sanju Samson, who hit a century in his last ODI, has not been picked for ODIs, while Abhishek Sharma, who hit a T20I century in the #INDvZIM series, has not been picked at all. Rarely has success in India colours mattered so little to the selectors! Good luck to the team anyway,” Tharoor remarked.

This is not the first time Shashi Tharoor is commenting on the exclusion of Sanju Samson, a wicket-keeper batter and captain of IPL side Rajasthan Royals, from the ODI squad.

The Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the squad details for the tour, which is scheduled to start in the last week of July. The Men’s Selection Committee met on Thursday and named Suryakumar Yadav as the captain of the T20I side, while Rohit Sharma will continue as the captain for the ODI side. Virat Kohli has also been included in the ODI squad.

Hardik Pandya has been named only in the T20I squad, while KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer make their return in the ODI squad.

**T20I Squad:**
Suryakumar Yadav (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh, Riyan Parag, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Mohd. Siraj.

**ODI Squad:**
Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (WK), Rishabh Pant (WK), Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Riyan Parag, Axar Patel, Khaleel Ahmed, Harshit Rana.

A statement from the board indicated that they will continue to monitor player availability and participation in the upcoming domestic cricket season, 2024-25. Team India, now under the new management led by head coach Gautam Gambhir following Rahul Dravid’s departure, will play three T20Is and three ODIs during their Sri Lanka visit in July and August. The T20I series will take place in Pallekele from July 27 to July 30, while the ODIs will be played in Colombo, starting on August 02.