Sanju Samson’s selection saga: To play or not to play?

By K.R. Nayar 

Sanju Samson must be the most confused Indian cricketer. He was not picked for the Champions Trophy because he did not play in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. However, when he consistently played and was selected for the 2024 T20 World Cup, he was not given a single match. Recently, he scored centuries against Bangladesh and South Africa when given a chance to play for India. Yet, he has now been overlooked for selection because he did not attend the Kerala team training camp. If William Shakespeare was alive today, he might have coined a new version of his famous line from Hamlet—“To be or not to be”—turning it into “To play or not to play” after witnessing Samson's plight.

Sanju Samson 

Samson is hailed as one of the finest limited-overs cricketers, yet he gets only limited opportunities to play for India. Do the selectors believe that when someone is the best limited-overs player, he should be given only limited chances? When he scores centuries, everyone appreciates his unlimited strokes, and many argue that he should be a permanent member of the Indian team. However, when the selectors sit down to choose the squad, they seem to focus more on how to drop him rather than how to include him. Even if he is picked, there is no guarantee he will make it into the playing eleven.

 

The lead news in Malayala Manorama over Sanju Samson's exclusion 

During my interview with Clive Lloyd in Barbados during the 2024 T20 World Cup, he had stated, “Samson is the best batsman in the world today, but I cannot understand why he is not part of the playing eleven.” Even Samson must have wondered why he was taken on the U.S. and the West Indies tour if they had no intention of playing him.

 

With Clive Lloyd after the interview in Barbados in which he hailed Sanju Samson as the best

Now, without even an apology for sidelining him during the World Cup, he has been dropped for not playing in a domestic tournament! Reports suggest that he was excluded from the Champions Trophy following a disciplinary action by Kerala Cricket Association. Samson had sent only a one-liner stating his unavailability for the Kerala team’s preparatory camp for the Hazare Trophy. Ironically, those who dropped him seem to have forgotten how he sat with utmost discipline on the bench throughout the T20 World Cup, never once even leaking dressing room gossip.

 

Sanju Samson... another breezy ton 

I have watched Samson train hard for hours at every 2024 T20 World Cup venue, even on optional training days when star players were resting. Was he overlooked then because he was training too much? Have the selectors now forgotten how hard he worked, even when he wasn’t considered for the playing eleven?

 

Sanju Samson celebrates after scoring a whirlwind century 

Having trained intensely for the World Cup, I had reported on the eve of several World Cup matches that he might be playing in the next match. At that time, I never imagined that selectors would ignore a player for practicing too much or working too hard!

 

Dropping players for not participating in domestic matches is understandable if it is a strict norm. Some players have been unavailable for unknown reasons. Then there are players in the Indian team who have skipped international matches due to personal reasons, such as childbirth. There was a time when cricketers met their newborns only after completing a tour. Disciplinary rules should be applied uniformly.

 

Perhaps if some senior players had taught Samson the art of skipping training or matches without being labeled as undisciplined, he would not be in this predicament.

 

Australia’s Glenn Maxwell has often opted out of matches citing that he was not in the right frame of mind. Yet, he is picked again because, even if it is with one hand, he can hit sixes, score double centuries, and win matches—like he did against Afghanistan in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup.

 

Here we have Samson, a proven match-winner. His last T20 match score for India was an unbeaten 109 against South Africa on November 15, 2024. His last One Day International (ODI) match score was 103 against South Africa on December 21, 2023. The decision to drop Samson for missing the Vijay Hazare Trophy would likely make Vijay Hazare himself turn in his grave.

 

It is easy to find excuses not to pick a player, even absurd ones like claiming he only practices during the day and not at night. Samson will remain caught in the dilemma of "to play or not to play" until those responsible for selecting him stop playing games with his career.