Sanju Samson a victim of regional politics in Indian cricket? Shashi Tharoor comes up with vicious allegation

Indian politician Shashi Tharoor has reacted to the selections for the upcoming limited-overs series against Sri Lanka. The Congress Member of Parliament (MP) was surprised by the Indian chief selector, Ajit Agarkar, and new head coach Gautam Gambhir’s team selector for the Sri Lanka tour.

On Thursday, July 18, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the white-ball squads for the upcoming ODI and T20I series against Sri Lanka. This series marks Gambhir's first assignment as head coach of the Indian Cricket Team, following his appointment earlier this month.

Shashi Tharoor questions the logic behind dropping Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma from the ODI and T20I squads for the Sri Lanka tour

The BCCI brought a few surprises, as Harshit Rana received his maiden Indian call-up, while Riyan Parag and Shivam Dube were included in the ODI roster. Additionally, Shubman Gill was named vice-captain of India's white-ball squads. However, the exclusions of Sanju Samson from the ODI squad and Abhishek Sharma from the T20I squad raised many eyebrows, including Tharoor.

Tharoor, who is an avid fan of the game and has always been vocal about its actions, has launched a fresh attack on the Agarkar-led Indian selection committee and head coach Gambhir for dropping Samson from the ODI squad and Abhishek from the T20I squad for the upcoming Sri Lanka tour.

He was baffled by their exclusion, as Sanju and Abhishek both hammered centuries in their last ODI and T20I outings, respectively, for Team India. Taking to social media platform X, the Congress MP shared his thoughts on the recent squad selection for India's upcoming tour of Sri Lanka.

Tharoor expressed surprise over the exclusion of Samson, who had scored a century in his last ODI against South Africa, from the ODI squad for the Sri Lanka tour. However, Samson has been selected as a wicketkeeper-batter for the T20I series. He also noted the omission of Abhishek, who had hit a century in the recent T20I series in Zimbabwe, from both the T20I and ODI squads.

Shashi Tharoor blasts Indian Selectors for overlooking in-form players

Taking a harsh dig at the Indian selectors by saying “Rarely has success in India colors mattered so little to the selectors, he wished Team India good luck for the limited-overs series, starting on July 27 with the first T20I. The three-match ODI series will get underway on August 2 in Colombo.

Shashi Tharoor posted on X: “Interesting squad selection for India’s tour of Sri Lanka later this month. @IamSanjuSamson, who hit a century in his last ODI, has not been picked for ODIs, while @IamAbhiSharma4, who hit a T20I century in the #INDvZIM series, has not been picked at all. Rarely has success in India colors mattered so little to the selectors! Good luck to the team anyway.”

Have a look at Shashi Tharoor's viral post on X:

Interesting squad selection for India’s tour of Sri Lanka later this month. @<!---->I<!---->a<!---->m<!---->S<!---->a<!---->n<!---->j<!---->u<!---->S<!---->a<!---->m<!---->s<!---->o<!---->n, who hit a century in his last ODI, has not been picked for ODIs, while @<!---->I<!---->a<!---->m<!---->A<!---->b<!---->h<!---->i<!---->S<!---->h<!---->a<!---->r<!---->m<!---->a<!---->4, who hit a T20I century in the #<!---->I<!---->N<!---->D<!---->v<!---->Z<!---->I<!---->M series, has not been picked at all. Rarely has success in… p<!---->i<!---->c<!---->.<!---->t<!---->w<!---->i<!---->t<!---->t<!---->e<!---->r<!---->.<!---->c<!---->o<!---->m<!---->/<!---->P<!---->J<!---->U<!---->5<!---->J<!---->x<!---->S<!---->O<!---->x<!---->2

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) J<!---->u<!---->l<!---->y<!----> <!---->1<!---->8<!---->,<!----> <!---->2<!---->0<!---->2<!---->4

Here are India's squads for Sri Lanka tour:

India's T20I squad:

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

India's ODI squad:

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