Sanju Samson In Line To Be Dropped From T20I Squad 1

Sanju Samson is in line to be dropped from the T20I squad for the tour of New Zealand which starts on January 24. Samson, who played the third T20I of the series against Sri Lanka, could lose his spot to Rohit Sharma, a report in The Times of India suggests. The latter is set to make a comeback in the shortest format for the New Zealand series, which will mean that one of the batsmen will have to leave his spot for Rohit.

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Samson, who was recalled for Bangladesh T20Is last year, has only been called up in the absence of regulars so far. At first, he replaced Virat Kohli but was dropped as soon as he made a comeback. He wasn’t a part of West Indies T20Is and was recalled when it was confirmed that Shikhar Dhawan would miss the series.

Sanju Samson In Line To Be Dropped From T20I Squad 2
Photo: BCCI

Samson could have been dropped for Sri Lanka T20Is but with Rohit taking rest, he kept his place. With all the regular players set to tour New Zealand, the axe could fall on the youngster.

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Although he is already there in New Zealand as the selectors drafted him into India A squad for the white-ball series against New Zealand A. He can join the national squad at any time even if he loses his spot in the 15-member squad to be announced later today.

Sanju Samson
Sanju Samson. (Photo by Francois Nel – IDI/IDI via Getty Images)

During the third T20I against Sri Lanka, Samson finally ended his exile from international cricket and played a T20I after more than four years. He made a sparkling comeback and smashed the first ball of the over for a six but was dismissed on the next ball.

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Apart from Samson, all the other members are expected to keep their spots. India-New Zealand T20I series kicks off on January 24 at Eden Park in Auckland – it will also host the second T20I on January 26. The next three T20Is will be played in Hamilton, Wellington and Mount Maunganui on January 29, 31 and February 1, respectively.