Twitterati slam MSK Prasad and Virat Kohli for dropping Sanju Samson from India's T20I squad

Sanju Samson’s exclusion highlighted Team India’s T20I squad for the upcoming tour of New Zealand. The selectors announced the 16-member squad on Sunday for the challenging five-match series in Kiwiland. As expected, Rohit Sharma was recalled to the team after he missed the series against Sri Lanka as he was granted some much-needed rest.

It was Rohit Sharma’s inclusion that cost Sanju Samson his place in the T20I squad.  Along with Rohit, Mohammed Shami returned to the team too. The pacer was also rested for the series against Sri Lanka. But unlike Samson, no pacer had to make way for Shami as the selectors retained Shardul Thakur and Navdeep Saini after the duo impressed against Sri Lanka.

Jasprit Bumrah will lead the pace attack while Yuzvendra Chahal, Washington Sundar and Kuldeep Yadav will take care of the spin department. Allrounder Shivam Dube has also managed to retain his spot as Hardik Pandya’s rehabilitation is taking longer than expected.

Samson dropped only after 1 match

The fans, meanwhile, were not at all impressed to see the selectors dropping Sanju Samson from the squad. But while Samson as well as the fans will be disappointed with the turn of events, the exclusion was not at all surprising. Samson was never the first choice in the team and was recalled only because the selectors had decided to rest some key players.

The right-handed batsman earned a recall after a gap of four years when he was named in the team for the Bangladesh series in November. He was recalled only because the selectors had rested India skipper Virat Kohli. He did not get any chance in the playing eleven and was dropped from the team for the series against West Indies.

But an unfortunate injury to Shikhar Dhawan saw Samson get another opportunity. He retained his spot in the team for the series against Sri Lanka too as Rohit Sharma was rested for the series. Sanju Samson finally got a chance in the playing eleven in the third T20I of the series but he failed to make it count and was out for just 6. But the fans were not at all happy with Samson’s exclusion and took to Twitter to slam the decision.

Here are some of the reactions: