No excuse to leave Sanju Samson out over Rishabh Pant for Champions Trophy 2025: Sunil Gavaskar

The Indian team for the England ODIs and the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025 has been finally announced, and it revealed that the Men in Blue will enter the all-important assignments with KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant as the only two wicketkeeping options. Meanwhile, Sanju Samson was kept out of the team for the upcoming 50-oer events for India.

For the unversed, Samson last played an ODI in 2023 during the away series against South Africa, and also scored a century that helped India win the series decider, and eventually, the series with 2-1 margin. Since then, India played only three ODIs during their tour to Sri Lanka, but Samson didn't take part in any of the matches. Meanwhile, former cricketer Sunil Gavaskar came forward and expressed his disappointment as the selectors waived their attention off Samson.

“There is no excuse to leave him out. But he was pitted against Rishabh Pant, who we all know can be a game-changer. Plus, Pant is a left-hander, and he is probably the better wicketkeeper, although he might not be the better batter than Samson,” Gavaskar told Sports Today as quoted by The Indian Express.

“Pant can change the game perhaps a little more than Samson and that’s reason why Samson missed out. But Samson must not feel dejected because all Indian cricket lovers will have sympathy for him for what he has achieved,” he added.

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Samson will be seen featuring in the five-match T20I series against England, which begins with the first match to be played on January 22 at the Eden Gardens, in Kolkata. The Kerala-born will be hopeful of bringing out some impressive performances to draw the attention of the selectors for the upcoming events.