Chief selector Ajit Agarkar and captain Rohit Sharma will turn up for the press conference to announce India's Champions Trophy squad on January 18. India and Pakistan are the two teams who are yet to announce their respective squads for the upcoming Champions Trophy which is slated to start from February 19.
India selectors reluctant to pick Sanju Samson in India Champions Trophy squad
Fans were curious to know whether Sanju Samson will make it to India's Champions Trophy or not, especially after his selection for five-match T20I series against England. But as per a reliable source privy to the development, Sports Tak has learnt that Indian selectors are reluctant to consider Sanju Samson for the Champions Trophy despite his stellar T20I form. Reportedly, selectors feel the star batter's T20I form doesn't translate to ODI format.
Big reason why Sanju Samson won't be in India's Champions Trophy squad
And another big reason why Sanju Samson will not be considered because he didn't feature in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-2025. Sanju was apparently in Dubai for Rajasthan Royals' camp during Vijay Hazare Trophy. And as per BCCI's new guidelines, it has become mandatory for every Indian player to feature in domestic cricket. And if BCCI ended up picking Sanju, considering his top notch T20I form, it will be unfair for the other players, especially after BCCI's strict action against Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer for ignoring domestic cricket in the past. This was the thought behind Indian selectors while snubbing Sanju for the upcoming ODI series and Champions Trophy 2025. However KL Rahul will be top choice as India's wicketkeeper spot for both the outing.
BCCI and the selectors are apparently unhappy with Samson's decision to not participate in Vijay Hazare Trophy.
The Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) reportedly excluded Samson from their squad after he made himself unavailable for a preparatory camp prior to the tournament. Earlier, KCA secretary Vinod S Kumar explained that they did not want to deprive a deserving young player of an opportunity due to a lack of clear confirmation from Samson regarding his availability. It has also been known when the Kerala batter was asked about his absence from Vijay Hazare preparatory camp, he said last time around he did the same but still he made it to the Kerala squad for the tournament. He expected the same but this time he was excluded from the squad.
Surprisingly the 30-year-old cracked a century in his previous ODI outing which came in 2023 against South Africa. Talking about his ODI stats, he has played 16 matches in which he has amassed 510 runs riding on 3 fifties and a ton. On the other hand in T20Is, he has featured in 37 matches and has scored 810 runs riding on three centuries and a fifty. Notably, out of his two of his three tons came in the T20I series against South Africa.
Samson is currently fighting for the two wicketkeeper spots in India squad with Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, and Dhruv Jurel for the upcoming Champions Trophy squad.