Former India opener Robin Uthappa predicted Sanju Samson’s future with the Indian cricket team after the wicketkeeper batter missed out on the squad to face Sri Lanka in a three-match ODI series.
India recently announced their squads for the white-ball series and it will be the first assignment of Gautam Gambhir, who was recently appointed as the Blues’ head coach and will remain till 2027.
Samson scored a century in his last ODI against South Africa in Paarl and his exclusion from the squad came as a surprise to many. However, Uthappa believes that this is not happening to Samson for the first time.
"From Sanju's perspective, this is not the first time he has gone through it? I don't think it will be the last time he will go through it as a player, but Sanju's one-day numbers have been quite incredible,” Uthappa said while talking to Sony Sports Network.
“I think, again, with changes in leadership group or changes within the leadership group. Things have to kind of settle down a little bit and we as fans and supporters of the Indian cricket team have to give that space to kind of settle down as well."
The former opener added that Samson will get his chances in future but he will have to make the best use of them.
"So, I think Sanju is not out of contention as with any other player. I think. It's a matter of time, and he will get his opportunity, but when the opportunities do come, he will have to grab those opportunities to make sure he steps up with solid performances that keep him in the running."
India's squads for Sri Lanka series
T20I Squad: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Ꮪhubman 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.
ODI Squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill (vc), Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (WK), Rishabh Pant (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Riyan Parag, Axar Patel, Khaleel Ahmed, Harshit Rana.
- Sanju Samson
