Ex-India Selector Explains The Reason Behind Sanju Samson Not Being Named In Squad For Asian Games

Former India wicketkeeper Saba Karim has explained the reason behind Sanju Samson not getting a place in India’s squad for the ongoing Asian Games 2023.

With both Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul sidelined, Sanju Samson was a regular member of India’s limited-overs team in recent months. And while not many were expecting him to make it to the World Cup squad after Rahul’s return, not many were expecting such harsh treatment for the Kerala star either.

Sanju Samson was ignored for the Asia Cup as well as the World Cup. And to everyone’s surprise, he was also not included in India’s team for the Asian Games. The selectors have named a second-string side for the games but the wicketkeeper-batsman could not make the cut.

There was also no place for him in the Indian team for the ongoing ODI series against Australia. Despite a number of key players being rested, the selectors decided against recalling Sanju Samson to the ODI side.

Saba Karim explains Sanju Samson’s position:

With the harsh treatment meted out to Sanju Samson surprising many, Saba Karim was also recently asked to share his views on the matter. The former national selector explained that Sanju Samson was not named in the squad for the Asian Games 2023 because he was still in the main team’s plans.

“Sanju Samson was kind of touted as a replacement for KL Rahul if he’s not fit for the World Cup squad. But the moment KL Rahul got the nod in terms of his fitness, that is one reason Sanju Samson is not part of the side,” Saba Karim told The Times of India.

“The reason why Sanju Samson is not part of the Asian Games is that once the selectors had to announce the side, the Asian Games side, much before, maybe a month before the Asian Games. At that point in time, Sanju Samson was still in the loop in terms of getting picked for the national side,” he added.

Calling the snub unfortunate for Sanju Samson, Saba Karim hailed the batsman’s talent and hoped that he would get a chance to prove himself in the future.

“This is rather unfortunate Sanju has missed out on not being part of this Asian game squad and I hope that the selectors would have conveyed this message to Sanju Samson because if you are part of the Indian setup, you would expect to be part of this Asian game side also. I hope things work out well for him. But he has immense talent, he has a lot of potential and I hope in the future Sanju Samson will get a look in again,” said the former wicketkeeper.