'I would have gone for Samson instead of Rishabh Pant' - Danish Kaneria shares his thoughts on India's World Cup squad

After the BCCI announced India’s squad for the T20 World Cup 2022 and the upcoming home series against Australia and South Africa, wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson was once again the talk of the town. The 27-year-old missed out on the bilateral series as well as the World Cup as Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik were chosen ahead of the Kerala player for the role.

Some cricket fans and a few ex-players were astonished to see Sanju being ignored once again. Of them all, former Pakistan player Danish Kaneria was one as he felt Samson should have made it to the India squad and should be given more opportunities over Rishabh Pant, as he has proved his worth even in the limited appearances that he has made for India.

“It is a bit unfair for someone like Sanju Samson. He should have been considered for the T20 World Cup squad. What has he done wrong to not find a place? He has also been ignored for India’s home series against Australia and South Africa. I would have gone for Samson instead of Rishabh Pant,” Kaneria said in a video on his YouTube channel while reviewing the squad.

Despite Rohit Sharma's support previously this year, the wicketkeeper-batter was once again left out of the squad. Ahead of the Sri Lanka home T20I series in March 2022, Sharma had lavished praises on Samson saying that he is a promising player and has a lot of potential, adding that he has match-winning abilities. But the way he has been kept out of the squad recently, is contradictory to Sharma’s statements.

“His back-foot play is superb, some of the shots you must have seen during the IPL, the pick-up pull, the cut shots, standing and delivering over bowler’s head. Those kinds of shots are not easy to play and I believe when we go to Australia, you need that kind of shot-making ability and Samson does have it in him. I just hope that he utilizes his potential to the maximum,” Rohit Sharma had said.

India's aim of bagging an ICC Trophy

Speaking of India’s World Cup squad, Avesh Khan is the only player from the recent Asia Cup squad who failed to make it to the big stage, as he has neither been included in the main squad, nor in the list of reserve players. Ravindra Jadeja’s exclusion was because of his knee injury, which ruled him out of the prestigious event. While Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel mark their return to the side, Mohammed Shami, Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Chahar, and Ravi Bishnoi have been named as the reserve players.