Mumbai: Keralite cricketer Sanju Samson has made a comeback to the national team, securing a spot in the ODI squad for the upcoming South African tour. The last time Samson donned the Indian jersey was during the ODI against the West Indies in August of this year.
KL Rahul is set to lead the ODI team, while Suryakumar Yadav will lead the T20 team. The announcement of the teams was made by the selection committee headed by Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar. Bharat’s tour of South Africa is scheduled to commence on December 10.
Earlier, Agarkar assured the cricketer that he was not only 100 percent but “200 percent” in Bharat’s plans. The selector stressed the importance of Samson enhancing his fitness, suggesting that fitness considerations may have influenced his non-inclusion. Currently, Samson leads the Kerala team in the Vijay Hazare tournament.
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have informed the BCCI about their decision to take a break from white-ball cricket. Consequently, they were not considered for the T20 and ODI squads. However, both players will be part of the team for the test series beginning on December 26. The BCCI also revealed that Mohammad Shami, currently undergoing treatment at the hospital, might join the Test team if he regains fitness.
Notably, senior players like Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara have not been included in the squads. The South Africa tour comprises three T20Is, three ODI, and two Test matches.
ODI Team: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sai Sudarshan, Tilak Verma, Rajat Patidar, Rinku Singh, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (C), Sanju Samson, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mukesh Kumar, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Deepak Chahar
T20 Team: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Subhman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Thilak Verma, Suryakumar Yadav (C), Rinku Singh, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan, Jitesh Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Deepak Chahar
Test Team: Rohit Sharma (C), Subhman Gill, Yashaswi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, KL Rahul, Ravichandran Ashwin
Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohammad Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Prasidh Krishna, Mohammad Shami
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