Sanju Samson‘s omission from India’s 15-man squad for the Champions Trophy 2025 has sparked significant debate within the cricketing community. Despite being in sensational form, having scored three centuries in his last five T20I innings and registering a ton in his recent ODI outing against South Africa in December 2024, Samson found himself overlooked by the selectors.
Shashi Tharoor criticizes KCA’s mismanagement
Shashi Tharoor, the Congress MP, has publicly criticized the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) for mishandling Samson’s case, blaming their rigid policies for his exclusion. Samson informed KCA well in advance about his unavailability for a preparatory camp ahead of the squad selection. However, the KCA enforced their rule that players must attend these camps, which led to Samson’s exclusion from the squad. Tharoor pointed out that Samson’s omission from the team was primarily because of his absence from the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024, where Kerala fell short of reaching the quarter-finals.
“The sorry saga of the Kerala Cricket Association and Sanju Samson — the player wrote to KCA, in advance, regretting his inability to attend a training camp between the SMA and the Vijay Hazare Trophy tournaments, and was promptly dropped from the squad — has now resulted in Sanju’s exclusion from the Indian team,” Tharoor wrote on social media
Tharoor highlighted how the KCA’s short-sightedness and rigid approach have now led to Kerala’s cricketing decline, and Samson’s exclusion from a major ODI tournament. Tharoor raised pertinent questions, asking whether it was fair for KCA to penalize a player of Samson’s caliber over administrative differences.
“A batsman who has a highest score of 212* in the Hazare, who averages 56.66 in ODIs for India (including a century in his last outing, against South Africa) is having his career destroyed by the egos of cricket administrators. Doesn’t it bother the KCA bosses that by leaving Sanju out, they ensured Kerala didn’t even reach the quarter-finals of the Hazare? Where does this leave him?,” Tharoor concluded.
The sorry saga of the Kerala Cricket Association and Sanju Samson — the player wrote to KCA, in advance, regretting his inability to attend a training camp between the SMA and the Vijay Hazare Trophy tournaments, and was promptly dropped from the squad — has now resulted in…
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) January 18, 2025
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Sanju Samson’s recent form and achievements
Samson, who has captained Kerala in various domestic tournaments, has been in incredible form lately. He led Kerala in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024, where his team won four out of six matches but narrowly missed qualifying for the knockouts. Samson also scored two centuries during India’s T20I tour of South Africa in November 2024, showing that his form in the shortest format remains formidable.
His consistent performances in ODIs and T20Is have kept him in the selectors’ radar, but his lack of participation in the Vijay Hazare Trophy ultimately cost him a chance to make it to the Champions Trophy squad. Despite his excellent record, including his century in the last ODI against South Africa and his standout performances in domestic tournaments, the management leaned towards selecting Rishabh Pant, who featured prominently in the T20 World Cup 2024, instead of Samson.
Samson’s future with the Indian team
While Samson is still part of the Indian T20I squad for the upcoming five-match series against England, starting January 22 in Kolkata, his omission from the Champions Trophy highlights the precarious position he finds himself in. His absence from the Vijay Hazare Trophy has now become a crucial factor in his exclusion, and his fate in future ODIs remains uncertain unless the KCA resolves the situation and grants him a fair opportunity to perform.
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