Team India ended their T20I overseas run with a series win over Zimbabwe to reclaim their number one spot in the rankings. Shreyas Iyer also won his first series as captain, ending a long run of poor results since taking over. One name missing from the Zimbabwe tour was Sanju Samson, which caused a lot of debate in the cricketing circles.
Former India wicketkeeper and batter Deep Dasgupta said Samson wasn’t part of the tour because the team wanted to try other combinations. The 49-year-old also asked why Axar Patel’s absence from the side for the tour of Africa didn’t elicit the same questions.
Dasgupta said, “Even Axar Patel wasn’t there for the Zimbabwe series. He’s probably India’s No. 1 T20I spinner, but why were there no questions on his absence? Only two openers can play. So this wasn’t Sanju being rested or dropped. It was done as a trial to see which of the three opening combinations works best.”
The former Indian player then named Gujarat Titans players Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan along with Yashasvi Jaiswal, Priyansh Arya, and Prabhsimran Singh, who haven’t been tried. It is to be noted that Prabhsimran was part of the Zimbabwe series but didn’t get a game.
Ex-India stumper questions lack of long rope for Samson
Chennai Super Kings opener played both games in Ireland, failing to score big. He didn’t impress in the two matches against England as well. Those scores meant that the player was benched for the second game in Manchester, where Vaibhav Sooryvanshi made his India debut.
Samson finally made his return to the India playing XI for the final game in Southampton, where he amassed 27 runs. Dasgupta questioned the management for not giving the 31-year-old a longer rope in the series against England. “Sanju should have played more in the previous series against England. It’s important to give the 25 to 30 players, who are in the reckoning for the next big tournament, as much game time as possible. That’s the best way to form the ideal 15 just before a tournament.”
Kerala-born batter will next be part of the Indian side during the upcoming Asian Games 2026. Iyer will be leading the side as the team looks to defend its Gold Medal that it had won in the 2022 event. After that, India will play T20I games at home against the West Indies before heading to New Zealand for a long tour.
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