The BCCI took to X on Thursday (July 18) to announce India’s squad for the upcoming T20I and ODI series against Sri Lanka. Suryakumar Yadav will lead India in the three T20Is, whereas Rohit Sharma was named as India’s captain for the three-match ODI series in August. Wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson was included in the T20I team but was ignored for the ODI series despite scoring a century in the last 50-over match played against South Africa in Paarl on December 21, 2023.
The decision to ignore Samson for the 50-over matches and Abhishek Sharma for T20Is didn’t go down well with Congress leader and Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor, who took to X to slam the Indian squad for the Sri Lanka series.
In a tweet that is now going viral on the internet, Tharoor took a dig at selectors by saying that ‘rarely has success in Indian colours mattered so little to the selectors.’
“Interesting squad selection for India’s tour of Sri Lanka later this month. @IamSanjuSamson, who hit a century in his last ODI, has not been picked for ODIs, while @IamAbhiSharma4, who hit a T20I century in the #INDvZIM series, has not been picked at all. Rarely has success in India colours mattered so little to the selectors! Good luck to the team anyway #INDvsSL
Interesting squad selection for India’s tour of Sri Lanka later this month. @IamSanjuSamson, who hit a century in his last ODI, has not been picked for ODIs, while @IamAbhiSharma4, who hit a T20I century in the #INDvZIM series, has not been picked at all. Rarely has success in… pic.twitter.com/PJU5JxSOx2— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) July 18, 2024
Samson, who has 510 runs to his name in 16 ODIs played so far, was ignored, and in his place, KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant were picked as the two wicketkeeper-batters. On the other hand, Abhishek, who scored a century in 46 balls against Zimbabwe during the 2nd T20I played on July 7, 2024, is believed to have lost the place due to the return of Suryakumar Yadav and Rishabh Pant in the T20I set-up.
Pant batted in the No. 3 position for India in the T20 World Cup 2024, whereas Suryakumar scored 199 runs in the shortest format megaevent as the No. 4 batter for the Men in Blue.
India’s squad for the ODI series against Sri Lanka: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (WK), Rishabh Pant (WK), Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Riyan Parag, Axar Patel, Khaleel Ahmed, Harshit Rana.
India’s squad for the T20I series against Sri Lanka: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh, Riyan Parag, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Mohammed Siraj.
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