'If I’m in place of him, I will be very disappointed': Pathan rues exclusion of IND star

Former India cricketer, Irfan Pathan, responded to the removal of Sanju Samson from the ODI series against Australia on Monday, September 18. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had just unveiled India's team for the three-game series leading up to the ODI World Cup in 2023. The first ODI is scheduled to take place on September 22, 2023.

3 things you need to know

• Sanju Samson could not find a place in the provisional squad for the World Cup
• Team India won the Asia Cup 2023
• Team India will next face Australia in a 3-match bilateral series

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Irfan Pathan empathasises with Sanju Samson

Pathan hinted that the batter-wicketkeeper would have been sad to be left off the team. On X, he wrote. “If I’m in place of Sanju Samson right now, I will be very disappointed…”

Samson, who was already cut off the World Cup roster, was selected as a backup for the just-completed Asia Cup 2023. Unexpectedly, Tilak Varma and Ruturaj Gaikwad were picked over the batter from Kerala. In the Asia Cup 2023 Super 4 match against Bangladesh, Varma, who just made his ODI debut, departed after scoring just five runs. Gaikwad will captain India's backup team in the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, later this month.

In addition, Samson's replacement for the World Cup, Suryakumar Yadav, kept his spot in the Indian team for the ODI series against Australia. That came after India lost by six runs to Bangladesh despite the right-handed batter scoring 26 runs off 34 balls.

The Mumbai batsman currently has two half-centuries and a total of 538 runs at an average of 24.41 in 27 ODIs. In the absence of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who have been rested for the first two ODIs, he will look to finally deliver. Samson, on the other hand, has scored 390 runs at a 55.71 average in 13 ODIs, including three half-centuries thus far. In his final ODI match, the wicketkeeper-batter scored 51 off of 41 against the West Indies. Meanwhile, To fill in for the injured Axar Patel, the selectors chose all-rounder Washington Sundar and star spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.

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India's squad(s) for series against Australia

Squad for the 1st two ODIs: KL Rahul (C & WK), Ravindra Jadeja (Vice-captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Shardul Thakur, Washington Sundar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna.

Squad for the 3rd & final ODI: Rohit Sharma (C), Hardik Pandya, (Vice-captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, KL Rahul (wicketkeeper), Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel*, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj.