The squad for the India vs. Australia ODI series was announced by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Monday. The matches are scheduled in Mohali, Indore, and Rajkot on Friday, September 22, Sunday, September 24, and Wednesday, September 27.
Samson reacts to the selection
Keeper-batter Sanju Samson took his Instagram handle to respond to the selection ahead of the big clash before the World Cup 2023.
Fans also took social media to express their anger at BCCI’s decision to leave out Samson.
Samson has been juggled in and out of the ODI team ever since making his debut at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo in July 2021. At the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba, Trinidad, he recently played two One-Day Internationals against the West Indies and scored 60 runs at an average of 30 with a high score of 51.
Samson travelled to Sri Lanka with the Asia Cup team last month. He was cover for injured KL Rahul, who had stayed behind for the group-stage matches. In Rahul’s absence, Samson was never a member of the starting XI, and he was eventually sent home before the Super Four stage in Colombo began.
Big names rested for the first two ODIs
Ruturaj Gaikwad, Prasidh Krishna were called up while Tilak Varma was retained. The selectors decided to rest Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya, and Kuldeep Yadav for the first two matches against Australia, in order to manage their workload ahead of the World Cup.
The highlight of the news, however, was Ravichandran Ashwin’s comeback to the ODI lineup. He last played for the ODI XI on the January 2022 tour of South Africa, where he appeared in two matches, both in Paarl.
Squad for first two games– KL Rahul (C & WK), Ravindra Jadeja (Vice-captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Shardul Thakur, Washington Sundar, R Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna
Squad for the third– Rohit Sharma (C), Hardik Pandya, (Vice-captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, KL Rahul (wicketkeeper), Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel* (subject to fitness), Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, R Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj
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