Legendary Indian cricket team batter Kris Srikkanth was not pleased with Sanju Samson‘s exclusion from the squad for the upcoming ODI series against Australia. The BCCI selectors went with KL Rahul as the main wicket-keeper option with Dhruv Jurel also making the cut. Srikkanth called Samson’s exclusion ‘unfair’ and even pointed out that he scored a century in his last ODI appearance against South Africa in 2023. The former India batter also expressed his issues with how the team management has tinkered with Samson’s batting position over the years.
“Again, very unfair. Sanju should have been there, considering he scored a century in his last ODI. So, every day, the reason for change keeps shifting for each individual. One day you make him bat at 5, then another day you make him open. Sometimes you send him at 7 or 8. How did Dhruv Jurel suddenly come in? Sanju may or may not feature in the 11, but he has to be given the first right of refusal,” Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel.
Srikkanth also took aim at the selectors for making constant changes to the side and added that such ‘chopping and changing’ can end up confusing the players.
“By making such selections constantly, they are confusing the players themselves. Even though we aren’t sure every day what the selection will be. Suddenly, Yashasvi Jaiswal is there, and then the next minute, he won’t be there. By chopping and changing all the time, they’ll dent the confidence of the players,” he added.
India’s squad for ODIs against Australia: Shubman Gill (capt), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (vice-capt), Axar Patel, KL Rahul (wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal.