Sanju Samson treated unfairly by home state, say former cricketers, ex-KCA officials
KOCHI: Can a Team India cricketer who has several international and franchise commitments walk into their state team irrespective of whether they have attended a training camp for a tournament like the Vijay Hazare Trophy or Ranji Trophy?
On Monday, Mumbai announced its squad for the Ranji Trophy game against Jammu and Kashmir, and Rohit Sharma, who is struggling for form after a disastrous tour of Australia, walked into the team after nearly a decade.
And going by reports, Virat Kohli has made himself available for Delhi’s Ranji clash against Railways on January 30 to get himself much-needed match practice. There are no such mercies for Sanju Samson, the star Malayali wicketkeeper-batsman. Despite expressing willingness to play for the state team, he was not picked to the Kerala team for the Vijay Hazare Trophy (50-over national championship) as he had opted out of the training camp.
Now, former Kerala cricketers and association officials have rallied behind the in-form Sanju, whose inability to play in the Vijay Hazare Trophy may have affected his selection to India’s Champions Trophy team.
P Balachandran, former state team coach, said Kerala Cricket Association’s (KCA) decision was not fault proof. “To exclude Sanju from the Kerala team was not a wise decision from the part of KCA,” he said. However, Balachandran said Sanju could have stated the reason for his absence from the preparatory camp in a proper manner.
“A player and an association should have a good rapport between them,” he said.
Former Kerala captain Sony Cheruvathur said, “There is no requirement for an international player like Sanju to attend a preparatory camp. Sanju is a person who likes to get involved and contribute actively to the domestic team.”
He said the star batter may have had valid reasons to stay away from the camp.
“Had Sanju been included, it would have been a great inspiration for the youngsters in the team as well. I don’t think a player like Virat Kohli would be practising in a normal camp to get a place in the Delhi team. Such things are ridiculous,” Sony said.