India vs West Indies: Sanju Samson’s omission from squad incites criticism, fans question Rishabh Pant’s selection

The Kerala wicketkeeper-batsman Sanju Samson was dropped from the Indian squad from the upcoming T20I and ODI series against West Indies.

India announced their T20I and ODI squads for West Indies on Thursday and in a surprising decision, the wicketkeeper-batsman Sanju Samson was dropped from the team. The Kerala cricketer was called back into the squad for Bangladesh T20I series after a spectacular performance in domestic cricket this year. But the batsman was not given a chance to play in the series, with Rishabh Pant being preferred over him in the playing XI.

Indian cricketer Sanju Samson during a practice session. (PTI)

Despite Pant not scoring too many runs with the bat, and also facing criticisms over his wicketkeeping abilities, the Delhi cricketer was included in the limited-overs series against Windies while Samson was dropped.

Cricket analysts Harsha Bhogle and Ayaz Memon took to Twitter to express surprise over the decision. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor also expressed his disappointment.

Several cricket fans also took to Twitter and questioned the decision to retain Pant and dropping Samson.

India will play 3 T20Is and 3 ODIs against West Indies starting from December 6.