Sanju Samson not finding a spot in India’s 15-member T20 World Cup 2022 squad and the reserve players list has become a major topic of debate lately.
Notably, the wicketkeeper-batter has been in terrific form in the shortest format this year. He has played six T20Is in 2022, scoring 179 runs at an impressive average of 44.75 and an exceptional strike rate of 158.40 with one half-century. Moreover, he led Rajasthan Royals to the IPL final this season.
While Samson’s omission has left a lot of Indian cricket fans furious and they are venting out their anger at the selectors and team management on social media, the Kerala lad is not too concerned about it.
In fact, Samson categorically expressed his displeasure over the fact that fans are calling for his inclusion in the squad in place of KL Rahul or Rishabh Pant.
"I feel very fortunate that I was able to make a comeback to the Indian team after five years. At that time, India was the world’s best cricket team, and today even India is the number one team," Samson can be heard saying in a video doing rounds on social media.
"There is so much quality in the team that it is not easy to find a place in the number one team. But at the same time, you also have to think about yourself as well and it is important to be in the right frame of mind and think positively."
"These days on media and social media, there's a lot of talk going on that Sanju Samson should replace KL Rahul. Sanju should replace Rishabh Pant. My thinking is very clear; both KL and Pant play for my own team. If I compete with my own teammates, then I'm letting my country down. So, I just try to stay positive and think that whenever I get the chance, I will work and do it for the team," he added.
India will begin their T20 World Cup 2022 campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan at Melbourne Cricket Ground on October 23.
India’s squad for T20 World Cup 2022: Rohit Sharma (C), KL Rahul (VC), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, R Pant (WK), Dinesh Karthik (WK), Hardik Pandya, R. Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Akshar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh
Standby Players: Mohammad Shami, Deepak Chahar, Shreyas Iyer, Ravi Bishnoi
