KCA President explains Sanju Samson's exclusion from Vijay Hazare Trophy squad

India announced their squad for the Champions Trophy 2025, to be led by Rohit Sharma. In the 15-man squad, KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant are the two designated wicketkeeping options that will don the India jersey at the multinational event. Meanwhile, stumper-batter Sanju Samson was deprived of a place, since he could not feature in the Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT) 2024-25.

It is worth noting that Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) had not considered Samson for a place in the VHT squad as the cricketer did not attend the preparatory camp ahead of the tournament. India chief selector Ajit Agarkar also cited his exclusion from Kerala squad as a reason for his non-inclusion in the team for the Champions Trophy squad as well.

Now, the KCA President Jayesh George has come forward to express why they dropped the star cricketer from their squad ahead of the premier 50-over domestic tournament. George revealed that Samson simply sent a simple message that he won't be available for the preparatory camp, and did not explain any reasons regarding his unavailability.

“I am not sure if Samson missing the tournament was the reason he was excluded. The reason he was not added to the Vijay Hazare squad was because he sent a one-line text saying he would not be available for the 30-member preparatory camp. We were all of the impression that he would be leading the team since he is our white-ball captain and had led in the SMAT season as well. So, we went ahead and announced the squad, and later he sent a message stating he is available for selection," George was quoted as saying by Wisden.

“Be it Sanju Samson or any other player, KCA has a policy in place that needs to be respected. We all know that Sanju does not need a camp to come into the squad, but is the Kerala team one that he can come and represent only when he feels like it? How did Samson reach the Indian team? It was only through the KCA. That doesn’t mean you turn up only when you feel like it for the Kerala team," he added.

Samson, who leads Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League (IPL), will next be seen in action in India's T20I series against England, starting on January 22 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, where the first match is scheduled to be played. He will be hoping to turn the tides in his favour with some stellar performances in the T20I series and mark a statement.