Sanju Samson's reaction after T20 World Cup snub is going viral: 'If I compete with my...'

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Monday announced a 15-member squad to represent the country at the upcoming T20 World Cup in Australia. One of the notable names missing from the squad is that of wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson. The Kerala-born cricketer was not even added to the standby players' list, which includes Mohammed Shami, Shreyas Iyer, Ravi Bishnoi, and Deepak Chahar. 

Ever since the news of Samson's exclusion from the T20 World Cup squad emerged, calls for his name to be added to the list is gaining traction on social media. Fans of the Rajasthan Royals skipper want the Indian selection committee to consider Samson in place of KL Rahul or Rishabh Pant. However, Samson recently expressed his disagreement with the calls being made for him to replace KL Rahul or Rishabh Pant. 

'If I compete with my own teammates, then I'm letting my country down'

In a video that is going viral on the micro-blogging platform Twitter, Samson claimed that his thinking is very clear in regards to the selection of KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant. Samson said that both Rahul and Pant are from his own team and if he competes against them, then he will be letting his country and his team down. 

"I consider myself very fortunate that I was able to make a comeback to the Indian team after five years. Five years ago, the Indian team was the world's best cricket team, and even today India is the number one side. There is so much quality in our team that it is not easy to find a place on the number one side. But at the same time, you also think about yourself. When will you get an opportunity or how much chance will you get? It is very important to be in the right frame of mind and be positive," Samson said.

"There is a lot of talk on social media these days that who should Sanju Samson replace in the Indian team. Whether he should replace KL Rahul or Rishabh Pant? My thinking is very clear; both KL and Pant play for my own team. If I compete with my own teammates, then I'm letting my country down. I am letting my own team down," he added.

India's T20 World Cup squad

India's squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya, R. Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh.

Standby players: Mohammed Shami, Shreyas Iyer, Ravi Bishnoi, Deepak Chahar.

Image: BCCI