Among the most notable absentees in India's T20 World Cup squad, the omission of Sanju Samson has raised the most eyebrows, especially after the out-of-form Rishabh Pant made the cut to the team. His exclusion has become a hot topic of debate on social media and joining in the conversation is former Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria
While talking about India's squad in a video on his YouTube channel, He said that Samson's absence was 'unfair.' He was also not happy with the decision not to select Samson for Australia and South Africa's home series either. He also openly said that Samson should have been picked over Rishabh Pant.
"It is a bit unfair for someone like Sanju Samson. He should have been considered for the T20 World Cup squad. What has he done wrong to not find a place? He has also been ignored for India's home series against Australia and South Africa. I would have gone for Samson instead of Rishabh Pant," he said.
In what can be construed as an opinion which has divided voices, Kaneria also felt that Jammu and Kashmir pacer Umran Malik should have also been in the list of standby players, and should be been a net bowler for the team as well.
"India could have kept Umran Malik as one of the standby players as the Indian batters would have got to practice against a bowler who can consistently bowl quick. While Virat Kohli has returned to form, the likes of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul must score big runs. Otherwise, their campaign will be the same as it was at the Asia Cup," he further added.
India will begin their campaign in the 2022 T20 World Cup on October 23 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground against arch-rivals Pakistan. They will be joined by two qualifier teams in their group, who also have Pakistan, Bangladesh, and South Africa.
Before the marquee event, the team will play two warm-up games on October 17 and 19 against Australia and New Zealand respectively at the Gabba in Brisbane.
India Squad
Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya, R. Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh.
Standby Players
Mohammed Shami, Ravi Bishnoi, Deepak Chahar, Shreyas Iyer.
