Keeper-bat’s decision to not attend Kerala camp ahead of Vijay Hazare Trophy could hurt selection chances in Champions Trophy
NEW DELHI: A couple of days before the national selectors meet to pick the ODI team for the three-match series against England and the ICC Champions Trophy, the Indian cricket board (BCCI) is planning to probe why Sanju Samson did not participate in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
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BCCI top brass and selectors are not happy with Samson’s decision to skip the event since they have tried to ensure domestic cricket remains relevant, TOI has learnt.
The Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) didn’t pick the wicketkeeper after Samson expressed his unavailability for a preparatory camp ahead of the tournament. KCA secretary Vinod S Kumar had stated that the association didn’t want a youngster to lose his place due to the uncertainty over Samson’s availability.
BCCI sources say the matter needs to be discussed before the selectors get down to picking the Champions Trophy squad on Jan 19.
“The selectors and the board have been very clear on the importance of domestic cricket. Last year, Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer lost central contracts for missing domestic matches without seeking permission. Even in Samson’s case, the board and selectors were not given any reason why he missed the tournament. All that is known so far is that he spends much of his time in Dubai,” BCCI sources said.
Samson has been picked for the T20I series at home against England starting next week. However, since the Vijay Hazare Trophy is played in a 50-over format, it becomes a crucial tournament going into the Champions Trophy.
“The selectors would want a valid reason. Otherwise, it will be difficult to consider him for the ODI season. Samson has had a bitter history with the KCA, but that needs to be sorted out for him to play in domestic cricket. It can’t be that the state association and him have a misunderstanding, and he misses out on game time. He did play in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy preceding the Vijay Hazare Trophy,” the source said.
Samson is considered to be contender for one of the two wicketkeepers’ spots along with Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul and Dhruv Jurel. There is uncertainty over Rahul’s willingness to keep wickets in longer formats since he has endured major hamstring injuries in the past two years.
It will be interesting to see how the selectors balance the squad if Rahul is unavailable to keep wickets.
