"Selectors Need To Explain": Shashi Tharoor Fumes At Sanju Samson, Yuzvendra Chahal's Absence From T20I Squad

As the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the squad for the T20I series against Australia, the names of several senior players were missing. While Suryakumar Yadav was named the captain of the team, youngsters like Rinku Singh, Jitesh Singh, Ruturaj Gaikwad, etc. earned the nod. However, many fans expressed surprise over the fact that the likes of Sanju Samson and Yuzvendra Chahal weren't part of the team despite not featuring in India's ODI World Cup 2023 campaign. 

Even politician Shashi Tharoor took to social media, to slam BCCI selectors for snubbing the duo of Samson and Chahal. Tharoor even said that Samson shouldn't just have been picked but also made the captain of the team in the absence of seniors like Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, KL Rahul, etc.

"This is truly inexplicable. @IamSanjuSamson should have not just been selected, he should have led the side in the absence of all the seniors. His captaincy experience with Kerala and @rajasthanroyals is more current than SKY's. Our selectors need to explain themselves to the cricket-loving public. And why no @yuzi_chahal either?," he wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

This is truly inexplicable. @IamSanjuSamson should have not just been selected, he should have led the side in the absence of all the seniors. His captaincy experience with Kerala and @rajasthanroyals is more current than SKY's. Our selectors need to explain themselves to the… https://t.co/W251o89jzs

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) November 21, 2023

While Samson has been in and out of the Indian team in both white-ball formats -- T20I and ODI -- Chahal's case has been slightly different. The wrist-spinner has been a regular in both white-ball formats but has somehow struggled to feature in ICC events for the team. 

As there remain question marks on the future of Samson and Chahal, the likes of Ravi Bishnoi, Jitesh Sharma, etc would look to make the most of the opportunity given to him against Australia in the 5-match series.

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team Australia Cricket Team Yuzvendra Chahal Sanju Samson World Cup 2023 Cricket