IND vs AUS ODIs: Former opener questions Sanju Samson's exclusion from India's ODI squad

IND vs AUS ODIs: Former Indian opener and now a successful broadcaster, Aakash Chopra questioned the omission of Sanju Samson from India's ODI squad that has been assembled to take on Australia in a three-match series. Rohit Sharma opted to take a break from the first ODI due to personal reasons while Shreyas Iyer has been ruled out from the entire ODI series owing to a serious injury. The three-match ODI series commences on March 17, 2023.

Aakash Chopra questioned Sanju Samson's omission from the ODI squad

Samson has been in and out of the team and matters related to his inclusion & exclusion have often attracted several opinions from all over the place. The Rajasthan Royals skipper has been one of the most consistent batsmen in and around the Indian cricket circuit and his domestic form has also been very impressive. But that hasn't reflected in his international form off late. Chopra took to Twitter as he pointed out why Samson has not been selected despite the absence of Rohit and Shreyas.

He tweeted, "Rohit isn’t available for the first ODI. Shreyas isn’t available for the entire series. Shouldn’t Sanju Samson be included in the squad? #IndvAus #ODI"

Samson amassed 284 runs in 10 matches in 2022 at an average of more than 70 but he hasn't been picked in any of the ODI series in 2023 so far. The commentator also analysed Shreyas Iyer's injury on his YouTube channel and he feels it would be difficult for Kolkata Knight Riders to replace him.

“Shreyas Iyer is an issue because there are question marks over his fitness. He has got back spasms and has missed a lot of cricket. IPL is in doubt. If Rishabh Pant is not there for Delhi and Shreyas Iyer is not there for KKR – these are huge blows", Aakash added

“I will tell you why. There is only one player like Rishabh Pant in the entire world and you are not going to get an Indian batter like Shreyas Iyer as well. When you are not going to get one and you see this team, you say – ‘Oh gosh, what will happen," he said.

India’s ODI squad against Australia: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, K L Rahul, Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya (Vice-captain), Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umran Malik, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Jaydev Unadkat.