Sanju Samson was absent when the first lot of the Indian team players flew to New York for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2024 tournament. The event starts on June 1 in the United States and the Caribbean.
The first batch of Indian players left for the United States on Saturday evening, with the second batch reportedly leaving on Monday, May 27.
On Saturday, May 25, Team India captain Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Shubman Gill, Mohammed Siraj, Axar Patel, Suryakumar Yadav, and Rishabh Pant departed Mumbai for Dubai, accompanied by the support crew. They will next take a flight to New York.
All these players were from IPL 2024 franchises, who didn’t make it into the playoffs or got eliminated earlier. However, Sanju Samson, who captained Rajasthan Royals and lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Qualifier 2 in Chennai, was not seen with the Indian team contingent.
Now, reports from Indian Express have stated that Sanju Samson and vice-captain Hardik Pandya will leave for New York at a later date owing to personal reasons.
As per the report, Samson has notified the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) that he is working in Dubai and will be unable to join the initial batch of Indian players for the New York tour. The BCCI approved Samson’s appeal to defer his travel for the forthcoming T20 World Cup 2024 owing to ‘personal work in Dubai’.
However, it is unclear whether Samson will fly for the United States with the second round of Indian players. Notably, Samson was in excellent form with the bat throughout the IPL 2024, scoring 531 runs in 16 matches for RR.
Virat Kohli to miss India’s only warm-up game on June 1 against Bangladesh
Meanwhile, ace batter Virat Kohli will not be part of the Indian contingent which will play the only warmup game ahead of the T20 World Cup 2024 in New York. India is set to play Bangladesh at the Nassau County cricket ground on June 1 in a practice game before playing their first T20 WC match on June 5 against Ireland at the same venue.
According to a BCCI official, Kohli informed the BCCI that he would join the India team late in the USA. He is likely to travel to New York in the early hours of May 30.
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