'What's So Special About Rishabh Pant, How Many Chances Will He Get' - Twitterati Bashes Selectors As They Drop Sanju Samson From T20I Squad

Out of the five players who were dropped from the T20I squad for West Indies series, the exclusion of Sanju Samson was the biggest surprise as the youngster was dropped without being given a single chance. He made his comeback to the national team after four long years and was expected to be played as a specialist batsman but with no slot available, Samson warmed the bench in all the three T20Is against Bangladesh.

Also Read: India Announce Their Squad For The ODI Series Against West Indies

Samson’s exclusion did not go down well with Twitterati, who slammed the selection panel for dropping the youngster and giving more chance to Rishabh Pant. Here is how Twitterati reacted –

#BCCI What's so special about Rishabh Pant..?? Is he the only batsman option available out here..? He is being pampered despite repeated dismal performance. Drop pant.#SanjuSamson deserves a chance https://t.co/VDHTNo9gm2

— Lijo Thomas (@lijobellmount) November 21, 2019

Why Sanju samson Dropped …Nice to see senior bowlers back in T20I side…Congrats shivam dube for getting maiden ODI call up…Deepak Chahar also recalled to ODI side

— chandru suman (@chandhrusuman) November 21, 2019

Sanju Samson deserve to be in the team . https://t.co/KSbeHi9iWN

— sunil shahi (@sachinist_) November 21, 2019

https://twitter.com/search?q=sanju%20samson&src=typd

Why no Sanju Samson? What gift do you get from Rishabh Pant? Ghar ka kam kartahe kya? @mskprasad @MSKPrasad5

— Arindam Roy (@Arindam96749428) November 21, 2019

Where the hell is Sanju Samson

— Abhishek (@sharmaji0810) November 21, 2019

#SanjuSamson disappointed to bcci

— INDIA 2019 (@SabithKK5) November 21, 2019

The shit bcci system is only about money. We can see an example of #SanjuSamson who is very talented but can't find any place for him .. #pant getting more shit opportunities ?

— Amaan khan ? (@7A_kHAN) November 21, 2019

Without playing a single match sanju Samson out. Ye kaunsa logic h BC

— Ajeet Singh (@AjeetSi33251809) November 21, 2019

Where is Sanju Samson?
Shame on BCCI
Playing a painful trick on Sanju….

— Chandan Maity (@Chandan62234185) November 21, 2019

https://twitter.com/HemAntPatelHPKL/status/1197530549402902528

Exclusion of Sanju Samson makes no sense ??‍♂️

— Harikrishna Hejib (@patriot_krishna) November 21, 2019

https://twitter.com/washersrkian12/status/1197530488115781636

Again Pant… Why not Sanju Samson… Selection committee needs to get re-selected @SGanguly99

— Shantanu (@Shaantanu_rai) November 21, 2019

With Virat Kohli coming back after being rested for Bangladesh T20Is, it was always a tough task for Samson to keep his spot. He would have been retained had Rohit Sharma been rested for the series but that wasn’t the case.

Samson, who first made it to the Indian team in 2014, has played one T20I in 2015. He was later dropped from the squad and his inconsistent run in domestic cricket saw him being out of contention. However, his form for India A against South Africa A and a double-century in the Vijay Hazare Trophy saw him make a comeback.

Also Read: India Announce Their T20I Squad Against West Indies, Kuldeep Yadav Back

Apart from Samson, the selectors also dropped Krunal Pandya, Rahul Chahar, Shardul Thakur and Khaleel Ahmed. Pandya and Khaleel’s poor run in the series cost them while Chahar and Thakur were dropped without getting a chance.

A fit-again Bhuvneshwar Kumar returned to both ODI and T20I squads while Mohammed Shami was recalled to the shortest format after two years. Ravindra Jadeja, who wasn’t a part of Bangladesh series, also made his return.

Rishabh Pant is the sole wicketkeeper for ODIs and T20Is and will be under pressure to perform in the series or else, the selectors might recall Samson to give him a chance ahead of next year’s World Cup.