Indian politician Shashi Tharoor has reacted to the selections for the upcoming limited-overs series against Sri Lanka. The Congress Member of Parliament (MP) was surprised by Indian chief selector Ajit Agarkar and new head coach Gautam Gambhir’s team selection for the tour of Sri Lanka.

On Thursday, July 18, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the white-ball squads for the upcoming ODI and T20I series against Sri Lanka. This series marks Gambhir’s first assignment as the head coach of the Indian cricket team, following his appointment earlier this month.

Shashi Tharoor questions the logic behind dropping Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma from ODI and T20I squads for Sri Lanka tour

The BCCI did throw in a few surprises as Harshit Rana received his first Indian call-up, while Riyan Parag and Shivam Dube were included in the ODI squad. Also, Shubman Gill was named vice-captain of India’s white-ball teams. However, the exclusions of Sanju Samson from the ODI squad and Abhishek Sharma from the T20I squad surprised many, including Tharoor.

Tharoor, who is an avid fan of the game and has always been vocal about his actions, launched a fresh attack on the Indian selection committee led by Agarkar and head coach Gambhir for dropping Samson from the ODI squad and Abhishek from the T20I squad for the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka.

He was baffled by his exclusion as Sanju and Abhishek scored hundreds in their last ODI and T20I matches respectively for Team India. Taking to social media platform X, the Congress MP shared his thoughts on the recent team selection for India’s upcoming tour of Sri Lanka.

Tharoor expressed surprise at the exclusion of Samson, who had scored a century in his last ODI against South Africa, from the ODI squad for the tour of Sri Lanka. However, Samson has been selected as a wicketkeeper-batsman for the T20I series. He also pointed out the omission of Abhishek, who had scored a century in the recent T20I series in Zimbabwe, from both the T20I and ODI squad.

Shashi Tharoor slams Indian selectors for overlooking in-form players

Telling the Indian selectors in a harsh tone, “Rarely has success in Indian colours mattered so little to the selectors,” he wished Team India good luck for the limited-overs series, which begins on July 27 with the first T20I. The three-match ODI series will begin on August 2 in Colombo.

Shashi Tharoor posted on X: “Interesting team selection for India’s tour of Sri Lanka later this month. @IamSanjuSamson, who made a century in his last ODI, has not been picked for the ODIs, while @IamAbhiSharma4, who made a T20I century in the #INDvZIM series, has not been picked at all. Rarely has success in Indian colours mattered so little to the selectors! Good luck to the team all the same.”

Check out Shashi Tharoor’s viral post on X:

Interesting team selection for India’s tour of Sri Lanka later this month. @IamSanjuSamson, who made a century in his last ODI, has not been picked for ODIs, while @IamAbhiSharma4, who made a T20I century in the #INDvZIM series, has not been picked at all. He rarely succeeds in… pic.twitter.com/PJU5JxSOx2

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) July 18, 2024

Here are India’s squads for the tour of Sri Lanka:

India T20I Squad:

Suryakumar Yadav (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Rishabh Pant (WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh, Riyan Parag, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Arshdeep Singh, Khaleel Ahmed.

India ODI Squad:

Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill (VC), KL Rahul (WK), Rishabh Pant (WK), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Riyan Parag, Axar Patel, Khaleel Ahmed , Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana.