While all the chatter is about Rohit Sharma's captaincy being taken away and given to Shubman Gill for the three-match ODI series against Australia, the fact that Dhruv Jurel pipped Sanju Samson as the back-up wicketkeeper is flying under the radar. The right-handed batter Sanju has once again not been picked for the ODI series despite Rishabh Pant not being fit. Jurel, who recently scored a century in the first Test against the West Indies, will be Rahul's back-up for the series beginning on October 19 in Perth.
Former national selector Kris Srikkanth believes Ajit Agarkar has been unfair to Sanju, as the latter deserved the "first right of refusal." He also stated that Sanju was ahead in the pecking order, hence he should have been picked ahead of Jurel.
It is worth noting that Samson had slammed a century in his last ODI outing in 2023. His ton had come in the series decider against South Africa, and ever since then, he has not been a part of the ODI scheme of things.
“Again, very unfair. Sanju should have been there, considering he scored a century in his last ODI. So, every day, the reason for change keeps shifting for each individual. One day you make him bat at 5, then another day you make him open," Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel.
{{/usCountry}}“Again, very unfair. Sanju should have been there, considering he scored a century in his last ODI. So, every day, the reason for change keeps shifting for each individual. One day you make him bat at 5, then another day you make him open," Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel.
{{/usCountry}}“Sometimes you send him at 7 or 8. How did Dhruv Jurel suddenly come in? Sanju may or may not feature in the 11, but he has to be given the first right of refusal,” he added.
Samson's record contradicts Agarkar
While speaking to reporters in Ahmedabad, Agarkar stated that Samson wasn't picked as he is a top-order batter and had scored a century for India while batting at No. 3. However, recently, the management dropped Samson down the order for the Asia Cup 2025, despite his three centuries in T20Is.
Samson has played 16 ODIs so far, predominantly batting lower down the order. He has scored 347 runs in 11 innings between No.4-6 positions, averaging 57.83 with three half-centuries.
Srikkanth believes Agarkar is just confusing the players with such calls and decisions.
"By making such selections constantly, they are confusing the players themselves. Even though we aren't sure every day what the selection will be. Suddenly, Yashasvi Jaiswal is there, and then the next minute he won't be there," said Srikkanth.
"By chopping and changing all the time, they'll dent the confidence of the players," he added.
India's ODI squad for Australia series: Shubman Gill (captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (vc), Axar Patel, KL Rahul (wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal.