Follow UsKerala Cricket Association (KCA) president Jayesh George has blasted Sanju Samson for missing the 2024-25 Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT). It’s one of the key reasons why he wasn’t picked in the Indian squad for the Champions Trophy 2025.
Apparently, after leading the state team in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) 2024, Sanju wanted a break from the KCA camp ahead of the VHT 2024-25. However, he was not granted the special demand and was not picked for the premier List-A tournament in India.
Talking to MediaOne after India announced the squad for the Champions Trophy, George said: “I am not sure if Samson missing the tournament was the reason he was excluded. The reason he was not added in the Vijay Hazare squad was because he sent a one-line text saying he would not be available for the 30-member preparatory camp.
“We were all of the impression that he would be leading the team since he is our white-ball captain and had led in the SMAT season as well. So we went ahead and announced the squad and later he sent a message stating he is available for selection. Be it Sanju Samson or any other player, KCA has a policy in place that needs to be respected.
“We all know that Sanju does not need a camp to come into the squad, but is the Kerala team one that he can come and represent only when he feels like? How did Samson reach the Indian team, it was only through the KCA. That doesn’t mean you turn up only when you feel like for the Kerala team.”
George also revealed that BCCI COO Hemang Amin contacted him regarding Samson’s absence from the VHT 2024-25. “Heman Amin asked me if there was disciplinary action taken against Samson that held him back from playing in the Vijay Hazare games. I replied in the negative, and he wouldn’t have been up for Champions Trophy consideration had I suggested otherwise.”
George’s comments come after Kerala politician Shashi Tharoor lashed out at the state’s cricket association for not including Samson in their VHT squad. “The sorry saga of the Kerala Cricket Association and Sanju Samson -- the player wrote to KCA, in advance, regretting his inability to attend a training camp between the SMA and the Vijay Hazare Trophy tournaments, and was promptly dropped from the squad -- has now resulted in Sanju's exclusion from the Indian team,” Tharoor wrote on his X handle.
“A batsman who has the highest score of 212* in Hazare, who averages 56.66 in ODIs for India (including a century in his last outing, against South Africa) is having his career destroyed by the egos of cricket administrators. Doesn't it bother the KCA bosses that by leaving Sanju out, they ensured Kerala didn't even reach the quarter-finals of the Hazare? Where does this leave him?”
Samson, who is the captain of Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL), will next feature in the five-match T20I series against England, starting on January 22.
