Exclusive | Was Sanju Samson Deliberately Dropped By KCA? ‘Star Batter Faced Discrimination’ – Read
Last week, BCCI announced the Indian squad for the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025 where they left out star player Sanju Samson despite his terrific numbers in the white ball format. The BCCI decided to pick Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul as preferred wicketkeepers. As per reports, Samson’s absence from Kerala’s Vijay Hazare Trophy campaign was the reason behind his exclusion from the Champions Trophy squad.
Sources in the Kerala Cricket Association said that Sanju did not attend the Vijay Hazare camp and as a result, he was not added to the squad. Kerala Cricket Association President Jayesh George spoke to the media and said that Sanju cannot decide to play for Kerala whenever he likes.
“I am not sure if Samson missing the tournament was the reason he was excluded. The reason he was not added to the Vijay Hazare squad was because he sent a one-line text saying he would not be available for the 30-member preparatory camp,” George told MediaOne.
He further said, “Later he sent a message stating he is available for selection. Be it Sanju Samson or any other player, KCA has a policy in place that needs to be respected.”
In an exclusive conversation with ZEE News, one of the sources close to Sanju Samson revealed, “Sanju was in Dubai when Kerala Cricket Association sent the mail to attend the camp. The mail was sent 2-3 days prior to the camp. The camp was supposed to start on January 13 and on the 11th, Sanju received the mail. Sanju responded to the mail, saying, he wouldn’t be able to attend the camp because reaching there the next day was tough and there were some personal reasons also. The camp was only for three days. He asked KCA to support him as he has been playing for Kerala for a long while and would like to continue playing with them.”
As per the KCA, since Sanju did not attend the camp, he was removed from the squad for the Vijay Hazare Trophy. “KCA did not even mention that it was compulsory to attend the camp. Earlier also, Sanju used to attend the camp whenever he was available and he never faced any problems,” said the person on the condition of anonymity. He further said, “After two matches, Kerala’s existing wicketkeeper got injured and Abdul Basith came in as a replacement who also did not attend the camp then how was he selected? If a wicketkeeper gets injured, how can a bowler come in as a replacement? Sanju was supposed to be called as a replacement. In the first mail that Sanju sent to the KCA, he confirmed his availability while in the second detailed mail, he mentioned personal reasons.”
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