Legendary Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar has shared his opinion on India’s decision to select Rishabh Pant over Sanju Samson for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025. Indian chief selector Ajit Agarkar announced the teams for the ODI series against England at home and the next ICC Trophy Champions 2025.
On Saturday, January 18, the Indian selectors surprised many with some of their bold but unexpected decisions, including the snub of Mohammed Siraj, the elevation of Shubman Gill as vice-captain and the exclusion of Sanju Samson for both the England series and the ICC eight nation tournament.
Sunil Gavaskar reacts to Rishabh Pant’s selection over Sanju Samson for ICC Champions Trophy 2025
The Indian selector took the tough decision on Samson despite his impressive performance in T20 cricket in 2024, which included two centuries against South Africa and one against Bangladesh. Even Samson’s numbers in ODI cricket look stronger, averaging 56.66 compared to Pant’s 33.50.
Also Read: ICC Champions Trophy 2025: Dodda Ganesh attacks former selector for questioning KL Rahul’s place in India team
But with only 16 ODIs under his belt, Samson’s limited experience may have influenced the selection of Pant, who has shown his ability to change the momentum in crucial matches. Reports claimed that the Indian wicketkeeper-batsman’s refusal to play in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25 played a key role in his ouster from the 2025 Champions Trophy squad.
However, the former Indian captain felt it was a strategic decision to go ahead with Rishabh Pant instead of Samson. Sunil Gavaskar has pointed out that Rishabh Pant’s left-handed batting and exceptional wicket-keeping skills are the main reasons behind the selectors’ decision to leave out Sanju Samson for the upcoming prestigious tournament.
Sanju Samson should not feel dejected: Sunil Gavaskar
However, the legendary Indian cricketer acknowledged Samson’s achievements and said he has the sympathy of the entire nation for his snub but advised the talented batsman to stay positive and use this setback as motivation for future opportunities.
Sunil Gavaskar was quoted by India Today: “Very tough because the man has been scoring hundreds and hundreds of runs. There is no excuse to leave it out. But he faced Rishabh Pant, who we all know can be a game-changer. Also, Rishabh Pant is left-handed and is probably the better wicketkeeper, although he may not be the better batsman than Samson. Pant can change the game maybe a little more than Samson and that is the reason why Samson missed out. But Samson should not feel dejected because every Indian cricket lover will feel sympathy for him for what he has achieved.”
Shashi Tharoor slams KCA over false allegations against Sanju Samson
Recently, Kerala politician Shashi Tharoor lashed out at the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) for its false allegations regarding Samson’s refusal to play in the preparatory camp for the 2024-25 Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Also Read: ICC Champions Trophy 2025: Rohit Sharma blocked Sanju Samson’s selection after clash with Gautam Gambhir
Notably, KCA allegedly said that they dropped Sanju from the VHT team due to his refusal to attend the camp and this ultimately led to the Indian cricketer losing his place in the Indian cricket team for the upcoming event.
Shashi Tharoor posted on and was quickly dropped from the team – has now resulted in Sanju’s exclusion from the Indian team.
A batsman who has the highest score of 212* in 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. Does it not bother the KCA bosses that by leaving out Sanju, they ensured that Kerala did not even reach the Hazare quarter-finals? Where does this leave you?
The sorry saga of the Kerala Cricket Association and Sanju Samson (the player wrote to KCA in advance, lamenting his inability to attend a training camp between the SMA and Vijay Hazare Trophy tournaments, and was quickly dropped from the team ) is over. now it resulted in…
-Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) jtonorthyoutorand 18, 2025