Once that, no player was better than Sanju Samson, said Gautam Gambhir. He used to say that no young batter in India was as talented as Sanju. Irrespective of the team, Gambhir seriously believed that Sanju Samson was a deserving enough candidate to be in it.
And now, here we are. Sanju Samson scored a ton in his last ODI match but wasn’t picked. Again, he scored centuries in three of five innings in his previous T20 series, but no selection. This raises the question: After all, given the imbroglio surrounding Sanju Samson, why not ask Sanju Samson himself, and why not Gautam Gambhir himself?
And who doesn’t think that Sanju earned the right to be in the Champions Trophy squad? After all, all the cricket legends, from Sunil Gavaskar to Adam Gilchrist, Irfan Pathan, and many others, have acknowledged Sanju’s talent.
Earlier, Gambhir once described Sanju as the best wicketkeeper in India and the best young batsman. He even tweeted how weird it was that Sanju couldn’t find his name on the playing XI despite talent and that other countries would welcome him with open arms, but not India. Sanju must bat at No four and be the first-choice wicketkeeper batter in the World Cup, said Gambhir.
But now Gambhir is a head coach, and Sanju Samson is not in the squad. Many fans and experts who thought Sanju should have been India’s leading wicketkeeper for the 2025 Champions trophy have also been disappointed.
Harbhajan Singh, Irfan Pathan, Sunil Gavaskar, and Bangar Gilchrist are all cricket legends who have opined that Sanju deserved a place. His recent performances speak for themselves: In his last 10 ODIs, Sanju scored 392 runs at an average of 65, with a century in the final one. In the T20s, he has made three centuries since his last five innings.
The most shocking thing was that none of us asked a question about Sanju Samson during the press conference. Surprising though, as he always cooked, his name was completely ignored.
This is not the first time politics has followed Sanju. But in domestic tournaments like Vijay Hazare, he was not given a spot even when he said he would play. Sanju has played 16 matches over the last four years, often left out between formats. For every ODI tournament that comes, he’s been sent for T20s; for every T20 now, he’s been sent for ODIs.
Certainly not an easy competition in the team; Rishabh Pant is skilled. Sanju deserved a spot, but based on current form, he did. I always hope he continues to play well and justify himself, his time will come. All we can do for now is wait and hope good performances will drag them into looking.
