Pettiness Is Self-Destructive, Says Shashi Tharoor After Sanju Samson Is Dropped As Kerala Captain

Sanju Samson found himself on the wrong end of the stick after the Kerala State Cricket Association decided to remove him from captaincy and appoint Sachin Baby back as the captain of the team for the upcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy and this development led to politician Shashi Tharoor reacting sharply on Twitter.

This comes as big news for Sanju Samson fans as the right-hander had led the Kerala state team in the recent Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy tournament and did well with the bat as well, scoring 32, 22, 16, 7, and 51. Unfortunately, Kerala couldn’t make it into the knockouts of the tournament, as they finished third on the points table in Elite Group C after three wins from five matches.

I’m stunned to see Sanju Samson being dropped as captain: Shashi Tharoor  

Sanju Samson possibly paid the price for Kerala not making it into the quarter-finals, as Kerala selectors went back to Sachin Baby as captain, who had helmed the team before Samson took over for the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 trophy. Apart from this Kerala also decided to drop batsman Rohan Prem and Vishnu Vinod, who did well in the T20 tournament, was rewarded with vice-captaincy of the team.

Shashi Tharoor was extremely disappointed at the development and criticized the decision on his Twitter. The Congress politician is a Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. This was especially disappointing for the politician, as Samson is one of the brightest young players on the scene today and was also recently named captain of his Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Rajasthan Royals.

Rajasthan Royals had let go of Steve Smith before the IPL 2021 auctions and though it was speculated that they might buy back the Australian cricketer for less amount in the auction, they decided to hand the reigns of the team to Samson, who has been with the franchise since 2013.

“Stunned to see that Kerala has dropped @Im_SanjuSamson as captain despite his stellar performance in the Mushtaq Ali trophy. The team list has no room for Asif or BasilThampi, two of the best pacers in the state, nor the marvelous batsman RohanPrem. Pettiness is self destructive!“, Tharoor wrote on Twitter.

Stunned to see that Kerala has dropped @Im_SanjuSamson as captain despite his stellar performance in the MushtaqAli trophy. The team list has no room for Asif or BasilThampi, two of the best pacers in the state, nor the marvellous batsman RohanPrem. Pettiness is self destructive!

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) February 8, 2021

The Vijay Hazare Trophy is the second domestic tournament to take place in India after the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. The BCCI opted to organize the tournament by scrapping off the Ranji Trophy.

Kerala Squad:

Sachin Baby(C), Rohan Mohammad, Sanju Samson, Vishnu Vinod, Robin Uthappa, Salman, Valsal, Jalaj Saxena, Akshay, Vinoop, Sijomon, Mithun, Basil, Arun, Nidesh, Sreerup, Sreesanth, Fanoos, Rohit

Also Read: I Am So Proud And Happy To Captain The Team Which I Have Grown Up With: Sanju Samson Reacts On Being Appointed As Rajasthan Royals Skipper