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Cricket

"Do you have a cricketing mind?" - Fans lambast Indian Cricket Board for once again ignoring Sanju Samson for Rishabh Pant

The Indian fans were once again left disappointed after the board didn't pick Sanju Samson in the 20-20 World Cup squad.

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Jennifer
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Sanju Samson, Rishabh Pant

Sanju Samson, Rishabh Pant (Source: Twitter)

The Indian Cricket Board on Monday announced the squad for the upcoming 20-20 World Cup in Australia. There were so surprise changes from the squad that played in the Asia Cup. Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel returned to the team after missing out from the Asia Cup due to injury. However, there was one particular selection that didn’t go down well with the fans. Wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant was once again shown the trust of the selectors despite his below-par performances in the format.

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Pant has played 58 matches in the T20Is scoring 934 runs at an average of 23.94 and a strike rate of 126. The southpaw has three half-centuries to his name in the 51 innings he’s batted in the format. Despite making his debut way back in 2017, Pant has not been able to cement his place in the side due to his below-par performances. Hence, the fans weren’t happy with his selection in the team for the marquee event.

There was a wild uproar on social media for selecting Pant over Sanju Samson. Samson hasn’t been given as many chances as Pant in the T20I format. He has played 16 matches in the format and scored 296 runs at an average of 21 and a strike rate of 135. The Kerala-batter has one half-century to his name.

The career stats of both players don’t have much of a difference between them. However, their T20I numbers in 2022 have a stark difference. Samson has 179 runs in five innings at an average of 44 and a strike rate of 158. On the other hand, Pant has scored 311 runs in 16 innings at an average of 25.91 and a strike rate of 133.

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Despite Samson outperforming Pant in the year so far, there were no discussions on Samson during the meeting of the selection committee, according to a report by PTI. The reason behind Pant’s inclusion in the team was that there were no left-handers in the top order.

"Sanju in any case will be playing the ODIs against South Africa as selectors will maintain the continuity from the Zimbabwe tour. Also, there was never any discussions on dropping Pant. He is the only left-hander we have at the top and he can win a match on his day," the BCCI source said.

The fans were once again left disappointed after Samson’s exclusion from the World Cup team and lashed out at the Indian Cricket Board. Here’s how fans reacted to Pant’s selection over Samson on Twitter:

 

India 20-20 World Cup 2022