Former Team India batter Sadagoppan Ramesh has strongly criticised chief selector Ajit Agarkar for leaving Sanju Samson out of the squad for the upcoming T20I series in Zimbabwe. Ramesh argued that the wicketkeeper-batter should have been rewarded for his match-winning role in India’s T20 World Cup triumph earlier this year, rather than being pushed aside after a brief dip in form.

Samson was one of India’s standout performers in the title-winning campaign, delivering under pressure with crucial half-centuries in the semifinal and final. He finished the tournament as Player of the Tournament, scoring more than 80 runs on both knockout nights and ending with an average above 80 and a strike rate close to 200 across five matches. Sadgoppan Ramesh pointed out that Agarkar’s own contract extension as chief selector came after that World Cup success, making Samson’s omission even harder to justify in his view.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Vanakkam SAGO with Ramesh, the former India batter, said the decision felt unusually harsh for a player who had played such a major role in a title run.

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“The Agarkar, who dropped Samson, is in an extension period himself. His contract was to end in June but the T20 World Cup triumph helped extend his time. And it was Sanju, who played a major role behind that victory. So Sanju Samson is the reason Agarkar is even a selector in this extended period now. It is extremely harsh treatment to drop someone three matches after he was the Player of the Tournament in a World Cup,” Sadgoppan Ramesh said.

Samson’s next three T20I innings after the World Cup produced low scores, and that stretch eventually led to his exclusion from the second T20I against England. Sadgoppan Ramesh, however, believes selectors should show more patience with proven team players, especially those who sacrifice personal milestones for the sake of the side.

“In the semifinal and final, he had the opportunity to complete his century. But without thinking selfishly for personal milestones, he played for the team and got out. Such team-players should be the first ones backed,” he said.

Sadgoppan Ramesh also questioned how a Player of the Tournament could be dropped so quickly after just three failures, especially when the team itself faltered in those matches. He argued that the recent poor scores should not outweigh Samson’s World Cup-winning impact.

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Despite the criticism, recent reports suggest that Samson has been rested for the Zimbabwe tour rather than officially dropped, though the debate over his place in India’s T20I setup continues.