Sanju Samson, as expected, once again failed to find a spot in Team India’s playing XI, as the tourists went with the same batting line-up for the third and final ODI against New Zealand on Wednesday (November 30) at Hagley Oval in Christchurch.
Following the announcement of India’s final XI, #JusticeForSanjuSamson trended on Twitter, while many cricket experts have been slamming the Indian cricket team management for continuously overlooking the Kerala star to back the struggling Rishabh Pant.
Well now, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who hails from Kerala and follows cricket closely, lashed out at the team management and stand-in coach VVS Laxman for picking Pant ahead of Samson, as the right-hander got only one match on the New Zealand tour.
Actually, India’s head coach for the New Zealand tour, Laxman, told Prime Video that it is important to back Pant given his performances at no. 4 in ODIs, which irked Tharoor, and he took to Twitter to take a potshot at the Indian legend with some honest stats.
The Congress MP feels Samson has been unfairly treated by Team India while saying Pant needs a break from the game. He also stated that Samson must now wait until IPL 2023 to demonstrate his talent.
Shashi Tharoor wrote on Twitter: “Pant has done well at No. 4, so it is important to back him," says @VVSLaxman281. He's a good player out of form who's failed in ten of his last 11 innings; Samson averages 66 in ODIs, has made runs in all his last five matches & is on the bench. Go figure. @IamSanjuSamson.”
His other tweet reads: “One more failure for Pant, who clearly needs a break from white-ball cricket. One more opportunity denied to @IamSanjuSamson who now has to wait for the @IPL to show that he’s one of the best too-order bats in India. #IndvsNZ”
India managed just 219 runs after being asked to bat first with Rishabh Pant making 6 runs in 10 balls and Washington Sundar (51) and Shreyas Iyer (49) being the top-scorers.
