Former pacer Zaheer Khan has shared his views on India opting for Rishabh Pant over Sanju Samson for the 2025 Champions Trophy, slated to be held in Pakistan and UAE from February 19 to March 9.
The decision of the Indian selectors received backlash from the fans and experts since Samson has been in red-hot form in white-ball cricket lately.
However, Zaheer thinks otherwise. He believes Pant will be India’s X-factor for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 and has no doubt about the impact that he will create during the marquee event.
“He’s an X-factor player. So, when you are looking at having an X-factor player in your team, it’s going to be an added advantage all the time," Zaheer told Cricbuzz.
“That’s why the expectations are on him, and he’s also determined. When you’re looking at him and being part of the team, obviously he’s there to make it count and have that impact," he added.
As of today, Sanju Samson has represented India in 16 ODIs and 37 T20Is so far. While the wicketkeeper-batter is yet to get consistent opportunities in the 50-over format, the rest to Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill opened doors for him in the shortest format last year.
Samson made most of the opportunities at the top of the order and slammed three centuries across seven T20Is against Bangladesh and South Africa.
In ODIs, Samson has scored 510 runs at an average of 56.66 and a strike-rate of 99.60 with a hundred and three fifties to show for his efforts. His last ODI appearance for India was in December 2023 when he scored 108 against South Africa in Paarl.
On the other hand, former India wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik opined the Pant was preferred over Samson not just because the former is a left-hander, but also probably due to the fact that the latter did not represent Kerala in the recently held Vijay Hazare Trophy.
“It almost had to happen, isn’t it? It was either Rishabh Pant or Sanju Samson. I know you can look at both of them as pure batters, but I think they have tilted towards Rishabh Pant for just the one reason: because he is a left-hander.
“He can give that differential variable that they are looking for in the batting order. But Sanju Samson was so close, and the fact that he didn’t play in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, I am sure, has played a part in that too,” Karthik told Cricbuzz.
Recently, Kerala Cricket Association president Jayesh George addressed the issue whether Sanju Samson’s Vijay Hazare Trophy no-show was a potential reason for his Champions Trophy snub.
“I am not sure if Samson missing the tournament was the reason he was excluded. The reason he was not added in the Vijay Hazare squad was because he sent a one-line text saying he would not be available for the 30-member preparatory camp. We were all of the impression that he would be leading the team since he is our white-ball captain and had led in the SMAT season as well,” George told MediaOne.
“So we went ahead and announced the squad and 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. We all know that Sanju does not need a camp to come into the squad, but is the Kerala team one that he can come and represent only when he feels like? How did Samson reach the Indian team, it was only through the KCA. That doesn’t mean you turn up only when you feel like for the Kerala team,” he added.
