'Looks like the only way Sanju can find place in the XI' - S. Badrinath takes dig at BCCI for excluding Sanju Samson in opening ODI

Former India cricketer S. Badrinath took a dig at the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for leaving Sanju Samson out of the playing XI for the first ODI against the West Indies, which was contested at the Kensington Oval in Barbados on July 27, Thursday.

In an unexpected move, Ishan Kishan was chosen over Samson for the first ODI of the three-game series. The 28-year-old wicketkeeper-batter boasts outstanding statistics in the ODI format, having scored 330 runs from 11 matches at an average of 66.00 and a strike rate of 104.76. However, the Kerala-born cricketer has consistently been left out of the team. 

Interestingly, everyone witnessed Suryakumar Yadav donning a jersey with 'Samson' imprinted on the back during the game. Meanwhile, Badrinath took to Twitter to share the picture of Suryakumar wearing Samson's jersey during the match and sarcastically slammed the BCCI. “Looks like the only way Sanju can find a place in the XI #WIvIND," the 42-year-old captioned the post.

See S Badrnath's tweet:

Looks like the only way Sanju can find a place in the XI #WIvIND pic.twitter.com/cAvGfgl3fu

— S.Badrinath (@s_badrinath) July 28, 2023

India beat West Indies by five wickets, take 1-0 lead 

Speaking of the first ODI, team India won the toss and invited the West Indies to bat first. The tourists bundled out the Windies for a paltry score of 114, thanks to Kuldeep Yadav (4/6) and Ravindra Jadeja's (3/37) remarkable bowling spells. West Indies skipper Shai Hope top-scored for his side, scoring 43 off 45 deliveries.

Batting second, India came up with a revised batting order, with Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill opening the innings while skipper Rohit Sharma batting at number seven. Kishan smashed a stunning fifty as the tourists chased down the target and won by five wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. The keeper-batter struck 52 off 46 balls, including seven boundaries and one six. Gudakesh Motie took two wickets for the Windies, dismissing Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav. On Saturday, July 29, the second ODI of the three-match series will also be contested in Barbados.