Former India captain Anil Kumble has voiced strong disappointment over Sanju Samson’s exclusion from India’s ODI squad for the upcoming three-match series against South Africa starting November 30. Sharing his thoughts on Day 3 of the second Test in Guwahati, Kumble hinted that the selectors may have misjudged Samson’s recent performances while finalising the squad.

The BCCI has opted to bring back Rishabh Pant for the ODI leg of the tour. Pant, who last featured in an ODI in August 2024 against Sri Lanka in Colombo, returns as India continues to rebuild its white-ball structure following retirements and injuries.

Kumble admitted that Samson was among the first names he expected to see in the squad. Reflecting on his record, Anil Kumble said, “One name I would have wanted to see was Sanju Samson. His last ODI was a couple of years ago, and even though he wasn’t part of the Australia ODI squad, he got a hundred.”

ALSO READ: Sai Sudharsan Trolled After Another Batting Failure In India vs South Africa Test

That knock Kumble referred to came in December 2023 in Paarl, where Samson scored a well-constructed 108 off 114 balls at No. 3. Across 16 ODIs, he has registered three fifties and a century, often standing out for his calmness and maturity in the middle overs.

However, Samson’s recent dip in T20I performances may have influenced the selectors. After the T20I retirements of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, Samson opened successfully with Abhishek Sharma. But once Shubman Gill took over as vice-captain, Samson was pushed to the middle order, where his returns did not match expectations.

Anil Kumble suggested that this could be a classic case of the selectors blurring form across formats. “When you play two or three different formats, you tend to mix up the form. That is something you need to keep in mind while picking squads,” he said, hinting that Samson might have been unfairly judged based on T20I numbers rather than his ODI track record.

With Samson left out and Gill likely ruled out of the ODI series due to the neck injury he suffered during the Kolkata Test, India’s batting lineup now faces fresh questions going into the South Africa tour.

ALSO READ: Shubman Gill’s Injury Timeline Reveals Delayed Comeback

While Samson’s immediate ODI future remains uncertain, Kumble’s comments have reignited the debate on selection consistency, format-based evaluation, and India’s approach to building a stable white-ball core.