Sanju Samson’s exclusion from India’s ODI team for the three-match series against South Africa, which starts on November 30, has disappointed former Indian cricketer Anil Kumble.
Speaking on Day 3 of the second Test in Guwahati, Kumble speculated that the selectors might have made a mistake in selecting the team based on the wicketkeeper batter’s previous performance.
Rishabh Pant will return for the ODI portion of the tour, according to the Board of Control for Cricket in India. Pant is back as India seeks to refine its white-ball combinations. He last participated in an ODI against Sri Lanka in Colombo in August 2024.
Samson was one of the names Kumble had anticipated seeing in the team. Considering Samson’s ODI performance, he said, “One name that I would have wanted to see was Sanju Samson as well, because I think the last ODI that he played a couple of years ago, I know he was not a part of the Australia ODI squad, but Sanju got a hundred.”
In December 2023, Samson made his most recent ODI debut in Paarl, where he batted at number three and struck a calm 108 from 114 balls. He has amassed three fifties and a century in 16 ODIs and is frequently commended for his composed middle-overs style.
But his recent performance in T20Is might have contributed to his exclusion. Samson and Abhishek Sharma have had a successful run at the top after Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli retired from T20Is. Samson was moved to the middle order after Shubman Gill took over as vice captain, and since then, his returns have declined.
Kumble argued that the selectors might have made it difficult to distinguish between different formats. He said, “So I think when you play these three different formats or two formats, you tend to mix up the form and everything else. So that is something that I think one needs to keep in mind when you are picking squads.”
He said that it might be incorrect to assess Samson’s ODI prospects based just on his T20 performance. Samson’s absence and Gill’s probable inability to play in the ODI series because of a neck ailment sustained during the Kolkata Test raise new concerns about India’s batting order before the tour.
It’s unclear if Samson will still be discussed for upcoming ODIs, but Kumble’s comments have reignited debate about format-specific performance and selection consistency.