India’s squad for the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka was announced on Thursday, July 18. Team India is scheduled to play three T20Is and the same number of ODIs against Sri Lanka.
The selectors have dropped a number of surprises on both teams and one of them is the absence of Sanju Samson from the ODI squad. While the wicketkeeper-batsman has managed to retain his place in the T20I squad, he has failed to make the cut for the 50-overs format.
KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant have been chosen as the two wicketkeepers in the ODI squad, while the selectors have also called up Shivam Dube in the absence of Hardik Pandya. The selectors have also given their first call-ups to Riyan Parag and Harshit Rana, but there was no place for Sanju Samson in the ODI squad.
Dodda Ganesh criticises selectors for leaving out Sanju Samson:
The decision has raised many eyebrows as the Kerala star has had to face setbacks even after playing well in the few opportunities he has had. He had scored a brilliant century against South Africa in December last year, which was India’s last ODI.
And as Samson failed to find a place in the ODI squad, former India cricketer Dodda Ganesh slammed the selectors’ decision. On X, Ganesh questioned the selection of Dube instead of Samson in the ODI squad and called it ridiculous. He also highlighted that Samson had scored a century in his last ODI appearance, as he wrote:
“It’s ridiculous that Shivam Dube has replaced Sanju Samson in the ODIs. Poor Sanju scored a century in his last series against South Africa. Why always him? My heart goes out to this young man #SLvIND
It’s ridiculous that Shivam Dube has replaced Sanju Samson in the ODIs. Poor Sanju scored a century in his last series against South Africa. Why always him? My heart goes out to this young man #SLvIND
—Dodda Ganesh | Dodda Ganesh (@doddaganesha) July 18, 2024
Meanwhile, the T20I series will kick off India’s tour of Sri Lanka this month. The T20I series will begin on July 27 and all the matches will be held in Pallekele. On the other hand, the ODI series will be played in Colombo from August 2 to 7.
Rohit Sharma will lead the Indian team in the ODI series while Suryakumar Yadav will captain the T20I team.