Veteran commentator Aakash Chopra said that Sanju Samson’s non-selection for the Vijay Hazare Trophy might cost him a place in India’s squad for the 2025 Champions Trophy as well. He added that the Kerala wicketkeeper-batter had a chance to pip Rishabh Pant to a place in the Men in Blue’s ODI side as well.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel ‘Aakash Chopra’, he said, “Let’s talk about Sanju Samson because his name is not there in the Vijay Hazare Trophy at all. You might be thinking what happened – he didn’t go to Wayanad, didn’t attend the camp, so Kerala said they won’t select him. Some fan page has put that Sanju had informed as well that he wouldn’t be able to come as he had an injury in his leg.”

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“However, they haven’t selected him. It’s important for Sanju to play Vijay Hazare. When you score three centuries in T20Is, even ODIs should be in your thoughts. Why not there also because Rishabh Pant is not yet established? However, for that, he needed to play the Vijay Hazare. How will you get selected for the Champions Trophy? You are not even in the scheme of things,” Chopra again added.

In the same video, Aakash Chopra also opened up on the reported reasons behind Prithvi Shaw’s non-selection in Mumbai’s Vijay Hazare Trophy squad as well.

“I read about Prithvi Shaw again. He used to miss practice sessions and miss them regularly. He was missing training sessions one after the other and came at six in the morning on a match day. There were plenty of issues. There are issues about work ethics and fitness. He had won the (Under-19) World Cup when he was 19 years old. He is the only Indian to score centuries on debut in the Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy and Tests. He had a ₹1.25 crore contract earlier and then a ₹7.50 crore one, and played for three years after being retained,” Aakash Chopra concluded.