The players from the Duleep Trophy 2024 squad are likely to be the front runners when Indian selectors pick the team for their five Tests at home during the home summer against Bangladesh and New Zealand. The wicket-keeper batter from Kerala, Sanju Samson, could be in the mix of the players who are under the radar of the Test team.
The last first-class game for Sanju Samson was in 2024 when Kerala faced Bengal during the last season of the Ranji Trophy. He hasn’t been a consistent member of the format, having played only 62 games of the format, despite of making his debut 11 years ago.
The wicket-keeper batter has smashed 3623 runs in 102 innings at an average of 38.54 and a strike rate of around 60, with the help of 16 half-centuries and 10 centuries with a best score of 211 runs.
Sanju Samson to replace Ishan Kishan for India D
The wicket-keeper batter of the Jharkhand side, Ishan Kishan, captained the domestic team in the Buchi Babu invitational tournament in Tamil Nadu, where he started with a colorful century and smashed the ball in all parts of the ground.
The aim for him was to get back into runs, to send the selectors a strong message after the Duleep Trophy, but he missed out on the first round of the competition after sustaining an injury playing in the last event. In his place, the selectors have brought back Sanju Samson in the mix, which the veteran could use in the best possible way.
Sanju Samson will feature for the India D side, where he will be playing under the captaincy of Shreyas Iyer, as they face the Ruturaj Gaikwad-led India C side, on September 05 in Anantapur. The all-rounder, Nitish Kumar Reddy, who missed the Zimbabwe T20I series with a sports hernia injury has been cleared to play and has also found a place in the India B side.
The injury list however is quite long for the selectors. The Indian premier pacer Mohammad Siraj and the expressive Umran Malik have already been out of the first round due to dengue fever, while Suryakumar Yadav also joined them with an injury that he picked up while playing for Mumbai. The left-arm spin all-rounder, Ravindra Jadeja, has been taken out of the tournament without any official statement.
India A will also be missing their fast bowler, Prasidh Krishna, who continues to recover from a quadriceps injury. The pacer had started his bowling at full strength following a four-month rehab, but the National Cricket Academy (NCA) members are not yet ready to take the chance and have asked to be cautious with the progress of the fast bowler.
Sanju Samson, who joined the India D squad quite late and a few hours before the first round of the games, missed out in Anantapur but is expected to be available for selection during the second game against the Shubman Gill-led India B side.