Sanju Samson finds himself on the bench yet again

Team India wicket-keeper Sanju Samson misses out on the playing XI yet again as Rishabh Pant is preferred over him for the first T20I against Sri Lanka. The contest is set to kickstart soon at the Pallekele International Stadium on Saturday, July 27.

Samson was selected for the three-match series against Sri Lanka after recently playing the tour of Zimbabwe. He was part of the squad that won the 2024 T20 World Cup, but could not avail a single opportunity throughout the tournament.

He could not get game time out in the middle during the Zimbabwe series with the top order doing the bulk of the work. However, he did manage to score a half-century in the final T20I, but that did not prove to be enough for him to retain his place in the playing XI.

Newly appointed T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav confirmed Samson’s omission during the toss.

“The wicket looks really good and we had a few sessions early so we don’t mind batting first. The brand of cricket remains the same, and the relationship between me and him (Gautam Gambhir) remains the same. Washington Sundar, Khaleel Ahmed, Shivam Dube and Sanju Samson miss out,” Suryakumar said

Sri Lanka skipper Charith Asalanka won the toss and opted to bowl first. This marks the first match as captain for the left-handed batter as Wanindu Hasaranga stepped down from the role after the team’s group stage exit at the 2024 T20 World Cup.

Social media reacted as per usual following Samson being snubbed yet again. Have a look at the reactions on Twitter right here:

“Shame on BCCI for ruining his career” one user wrote

“Unreal politics and favoritism” one tweet read

“Riyan over samson?” another user remarked

Sanju Samson has an average of 21.14 in T20Is

Samson’s debut in the shortest format came as early as 2015, but he has struggled to cement his place in the side. It took him five years to make his second appearance, and since then he has played only on a sporadic appearance which has affected his rhythm and consistency.

After 24 innings in T20Is for India, he has scored 444 runs at a strike rate of 132 and an average of 21.14.

India (Playing XI) – Ꮪhubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Rinku Singh, Riyan Parag, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammad Siraj