Sanju Samson was left out of the T20I squad for India’s recent three-match series against Zimbabwe. Fans were left wondering why Sanju Samson was not selected, as he had a mixed bag of innings in the Indian team’s previous five-match series against England. The 31-year-old wicketkeeper batsman only figured in the first and the fifth match of the T20I series against England.

Deep Dasgupta Backs Rotation Policy Behind Sanju Samson’s Omission

Former India wicketkeeper Deep Dasgupta responded to criticism of the decision to leave out Samson by stating that the same logic could be applied to the exclusion of Axar Patel from the squad that toured Zimbabwe.

“If someone is asking why Samson was left out, they should ask why Axar Patel wasn’t called upon for the Zimbabwe series too. The man is India’s No. 1 spinner in T20Is, so where are the questions about him? I do think there have been some mistakes in the selection process,” said Dasgupta in his YouTube video.

Axar, who was in blistering form at the start of the year, was recalled for the T20I series against England, but ended up playing all five matches. The all-rounder picked up five wickets in the T20I series against England, with his best figures coming in the third match when he took four wickets. Patel followed up with a scintillating unbeaten 57 to steer India towards victory.

Deep Dasgupta added that they were testing out their opening partnerships, rather than sitting out Samson.

“Unfortunately, there can be only two openers. So Sanju was not rested or dropped for the series against England. They just wanted to see which of the three opening stands was better. They could have even used Shubman Gill, or Sai Sudharsan or Yashasvi for that matter. But they didn’t try any other options.”

While defending the decision, Dasgupta added that Sanju Samson should have had a bigger role in the previous series against England.

“Sanju Samson should have batted more in the previous series against England. The selectors need to give the 25-30 players eligible to play in the next big event as many opportunities as possible before the tournament,” said Dasgupta while emphasizing the need to name the ideal 15 before naming the final XI.

Meanwhile, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi made the most of his opportunity in Zimbabwe. The 15-year-old left-hander has had a dream run in the format so far, scoring 151 runs in three matches, including two half-centuries, finishing as the second-highest run-scorer in the series. He was named Player of the Series and Player of the Match in the final T20I.