Along with Rishabh Pant, whenever there is another wicketkeeper-batter in the squad, it becomes a matter of debate as to who should be picked in the playing XI, especially in the limited overs. Until the 20-20 World Cup 2022, the toss-up was between Dinesh Karthik and Pant. And now, when the likes of Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan are here, the tussle has gotten stronger.
Samson, who played his first international game in 2015, has been overlooked on numerous occasions. The curious case of Samson took the center stage during the ongoing New Zealand tour when he was left to warm the bench in the entire T20I series and was dropped again after playing the 1st ODI in Auckland which India lost by 7 wickets.
Many former cricketers and fans have criticized the Indian team management for ignoring Sanju Samson even after performing well in recent times while giving back-to-back opportunities to Pant who is failing to perform consistently.
‘They have tried him at every position’- Danish Kaneria
Former Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria lashed out at Indian Cricket Board and said that Samson should be given more opportunities, adding Pant is not a white ball cricketer.
“India should accept the fact that Rishabh Pant is not a white-ball cricketer. They have tried him at every position in the order, just so that he can score runs. But what about Sanju Samson? Did he do anything wrong by scoring 36 runs?” Kaneria said on his Youtube channel.
“From fans to former players, everyone has expressed displeasure over this. All this is very demoralizing for Sanju Samson, as he is being treated like an average cricketer.”
Kaneria also talked about Indian allrounder Deepak Hooda and said that the management did not use him well as he was dropped after doing well.
“Deepak Hooda was dancing when the ball started to seam. He didn’t understand what was happening. The team management dropped him when he was doing well, shattering his confidence. Now he has been asked to play in a tough situation where he doesn’t know what to do.” he added.
