Former India cricketer Robin Uthappa showed his disappointment over wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson’s non-selection for the upcoming three-match home ODI series against Australia. Uthappa added that Samson was overlooked despite having a good record in ODIs. He shared that the selectors should consider adding him to the Asian Games 2023 squad since he is not in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 as well.
“I find it wrong to not have Sanju Samson in the squad. He has done well whenever he has gotten an opportunity in ODIs. Yes, he has been inconsistent in T20Is, but his performances in ODIs have been quite good. The justification would be that he won’t be in the XI, so why keep him in the squad?” Uthappa said in his latest YouTube video.
He further added: “But I think it is important to have continuity. In the case of Sanju, they haven’t done that. He was in the reserves for the Asia Cup but wasn’t picked for the Australia series. At least send him to the Asian Games. It is very normal to be dejected as a player when you don’t get support despite doing well.”
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However, Sanju Samson has 390 runs to his kitty from 12 ODI innings which came at an average of 55.71. But Ishan Kishan and KL Rahul have piped him in the order for the keeper-batter’s role in India’s ODI team. Uthappa also opined on the spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, sharing how the veteran prepares well.
“When Ravichandran Ashwin got to know that he was going to be in the squad for the series against Australia, he went and played a local One-Day match in Chennai. He pays a lot of attention to his preparation, and I think all great players do that. Players like Ashwin do so well because of how they prepare,” he again shared.
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Meanwhile, Team India’s senior batter, KL Rahul, will lead India in the first two ODI games against Australia, with the likes of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Hardik Pandya rested as well.
“KL Rahul has been appointed captain for the first two games. Is it a good idea? It certainly is. But, his performances as captain haven’t been very good. He has humongous potential as a batter, but the captaincy does affect his batting. We have seen that in the IPL as well. He was exceptional at the Asia Cup. The way he batted, his approach, his movements as a keeper, I think he has been exceptional. I feel like he will do very, very well in the games to come,” Robin Uthappa concluded.
