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On November 23, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced India’s squad for three-ODI series against South Africa. In the absence of injured captain Shubman Gill and vice-captain Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul was named stand-in skipper for the home series. Once again, Sanju Samson faced snub from the selectors as Dhruv Jurel was picked ahead of him. As Samson’s long absence from ODI squad continues, former India head coach Anil Kumble point out that he scored a century in previous ODI appearance.
“One name that I would have wanted to see was Sanju Samson as well, because I think the last ODI that he played a couple of years ago, I know he was not a part of the Australia ODI squad, but Sanju got a hundred,” Kumble said on JioStar.
Samson scored his maiden ODI century in Paarl in December 2023. Since then, he hasn't been part of the ODI setup and Jurel has found himself up in the pecking order.
Kumble feels that the selectors may have been confusing form in different formats. Samson was not at his best in the T20 Asia Cup 2025. He was shuffled up and down the order and did not open alongside Abhishek Sharma as vice-captain Shubman Gill took the spot.
“So I think when you play these three different formats or two formats, you tend to mix up the form and everything else. So that is something that I think one needs to keep in mind when you are picking squads,” the legendary leg-spinner said.
However, it will be interesting to see whether Samson gets back his opening position in Gill’s absence against South Africa in T20I series.
Samson’s ODI record
So far, Samson has played 16 ODIs and scored 510 runs at an average of 56.66, including a century and three fifties. His ODI strike rate is 99.60. Also, he has hit 22 sixes in ODIs already.
Samson to lead Kerala during ODI series
Ignored by selectors for ODIs, Samson will be leading Kerala in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025. He will play most of their group stage matches before rejoining the T20I squad for the five-T20I series against South Africa, starting on December 9.
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