[og_img]
- 16-man squad announced for ODI series against New Zealand-A
- Sanju Samson also included India-A captain, Umran Malik
- Fans were disappointed after Sanju’s omission from the T20 World Cup squad
Wicket keeper batsman Sanju Samson has not been included in the Indian squad for the T20 World Cup 2022. But now the BCCI has made him the captain of the India-A team for the three-match ODI series against New Zealand, giving him a bigger responsibility. Apart from Samson, Umran Malik has also been included in the 16-member squad.
BCCI took the decision to remove the disappointment of the fans
Sanju Samson has not been included in the Indian squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2022. Many cricket fans were unhappy with this decision of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Now BCCI has taken a big step to assuage the disappointment of the fans and appointed Sanju Samson as the captain of India-A for the three-match ODI series against New Zealand-A.
These players were contenders for the World Cup team
The 16-member squad selected by the BCCI consists mostly of players who were contenders for selection in the World Cup squad, but did not get a chance for the tournament on Australian soil. Apart from Samson, these players include Prithvi Shaw, Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Umran Malik. Now these players will want to grab the attention of the selectors by performing brilliantly in the series against New Zealand-A.
India A Team: Prithvi Shaw, Abhimanyu Iswaran, Rituraj Gaekwad, Rahul Tripathi, Rajat Patidar, Sanju Samson (captain), KS Bharat (wicketkeeper), Kuldeep Yadav, Shahbaz Ahmed, Rahul Chahar, Tilak Verma, Kuldeep Sen, Shardul Thakur, Umran Malik, Navdeep Saini , Raj Angad Bawa.
All three matches will be played in Chennai
All three matches of the unofficial ODI series against New Zealand-A will be played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. The first match will be played on September 22. Then the remaining two matches will be organized on September 25 and 27. Currently, the New Zealand-A team is playing the last match of the three-match unofficial Test series against India-A.
Pant gets chance for T20 World Cup
Rishabh Pant was picked for the T20 World Cup against the likes of Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson. However, Pant’s form in T20 has been very bad. Pant has scored 934 runs at an average of 23.94 in 58 T20 Internationals. Meanwhile, his strike rate has been 126.21. Pant has scored 3 fifties in T20 Internationals and his best score is 65 runs. As for Sanju Samson, he has so far scored 296 runs for India in 16 T20 Internationals at an average of 21.14 and a strike rate of 135.15. The statistics clearly show that Sanju Samson has got far fewer chances than Rishabh Pant.
Didn’t get a chance in the Australia-Africa series either
BCCI has also announced the squad for the T20 series against Australia and South Africa. Sanju Samson did not get a place in this too. However, fans hope that Samson will definitely get a chance in the ODI series against South Africa. The squad for the ODI series is yet to be announced. Right now, Samson has got a great chance to impress the selectors with his captaincy and batting.