Former Pakistan leg-spinner Danish Kaneria feels that BCCI made Sanju Samson the captain of India A team for its unofficial ODI series against New Zealand due to the pressure built over them for not selecting the player for the upcoming T20 World Cup. It is worth noting that wicketkeepers Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik got a nod ahead of Samson in the 15-member Indian squad, while the 27-year-old youngster even failed to get a spot in the reserves. He will now be leading India A against New Zealand in a three-match series.
"Sanju has great fan following. His batting style, in Australia, gives you a x-factor. On bouncy wickets, nobody plays better than Sanju...Sanju has now been made India A captain (against New Zealand). BCCI came under so much pressure (for not selecting Sanju Samson for T20 World Cup), that Sanju was been handed the captaincy of India A ," said Kaneria on his YouTube channel.
"That's a pride, whenever you captain a national team be it any category. This the best opportunity for Sanju Samson. If he can win the series for India A as captain, it would be great," added Kaneria.
India's unofficial ODI series against New Zealand kicks off on September 22 while the next two matches of the series will be played on September 25 and 27. The likes of Prithvi Shaw, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shardul Thakur and Umran Malik have also been named in the India A squad.
Samson had a great Indian Premier League 2022, in which his side Rajasthan Royals reached the final. He scored 458 runs in 17 matches at an average of 28.63 and a strike rate of 146.79. Two half-centuries came out of his bat, with the best score of 55.
In five innings across six T20I matches this year, Samson scored 179 runs at an average of 44.75. He hit a half-century, a knock of 77 runs against Ireland.
In six ODIs, Samson scored 130 runs at an average of 43.33. One half-century came out of his bat in five innings he played.
(With ANI Inputs)