Twitter Reactions: Sanju Samson replaces Shikhar Dhawan for West Indies T20Is

Sanju Samson’s fortunes have been a witness to a roller coaster ride over the last few weeks. The Kerala batsman made his national debut in a T20I in Harare back in 2015 and it has thus far been his only match in India colours. He has a couple of centuries to his name in the Indian Premier League (IPL), representing the Rajasthan Royals (RR), but he kept on straining in List A cricket.

However, in the previous edition of the Vijay Hazare Trophy, Samson notched a double century versus Goa. The national selectors took note of it and roped in him for the three-match T20I series against Bangladesh. To his utter dismay, he didn’t get to play in the eleven. Rishabh Pant wasn’t in the greatest of nicks and Samson was expected to get a chance in one match or the other.

But that didn’t happen and he ended up warming the benches. To add insult to injury, he was also dropped from the three-match T20I series against the West Indies. The series is scheduled to get underway on December 6. The Indian team management was severely criticised for unceremoniously dropping the Young Turk without even giving him a chance to show his mettle.

Sanju Samson replaces Dhawan

But the rub of the green has now gone in Samson’s favour. Shikhar Dhawan has been ruled out of the series and Samson has been roped in as the southpaw’s replacement. Dhawan is recovering from a knee injury that he suffered during the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, representing Delhi. Dhawan got a deep cut on his knee while fielding and was then taken to the hospital for treatment.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) released a statement where it was mentioned that Dhawan needs more time to recover. Thereafter, the All-India Senior Selection Committee named Sanju as Shikhar’s replacement. Samson would be hoping to get a game this time around.

It now remains to be seen whether he can break into the playing eleven or not. In the meantime, after Sanju was taken back into the Indian team, the users on Twitter sounded excited.

Here is how Twitterati reacted after Samson’s inclusion