KCA President Criticizes Sanju Samson for Skipping Vijay Hazare Trophy Amid Champions Trophy Snub

The Sanju Samson being left out of India's ICC Champions Trophy squad has created a controversy and KCA President Jayesh George has come down hard on the batter. This has now made Samson’s decision to miss Kerala’s preparatory camp for the Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT) particularly significant, considering Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul have emerged as the two keepers of choice for the tournament.

Samson had reportedly informed the KCA about his unavailability but the association has not bothered to include him in the squad which may cost him a spot in the Champions Trophy. The poor performance of Kerala in the VHT has also added fuel to the debate as they came fifth and did not even make it to the quarterfinals. The BCCI is allegedly looking into the miscommunication that may have prevented Samson from being included.

“Sanju had sent an email stating that he would not be available for the camp. The team had a short camp in Wayanad without him. Naturally, we only considered those who were part of the sessions for selection. There has been no further discussion with him on the matter,” KCA secretary Vinod S Kumar had told The Indian Express on December 18. However, later Samson announced his availability. “Sanju has updated us that he is available for selection over the last two days. We are yet to take a call on his inclusion. There is a full contingent already there in Hyderabad and only two games have been played,” KCA Secretary Vinod S Kumar explained the situation to The Indian Express.

“Sanju informed us via a one-line text that he wouldn’t be available for the camp. Everyone, including the selectors, assumed he’d lead the team after captaining the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. But he pulled out at the last minute and then later said he was available after we’d already announced the squad. Sanju doesn’t need a camp to make the team, but is the Kerala team something he can join whenever it suits him?" George told MediaOne.

Samson's decision to miss the Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT) has gone down ill with a chance of him being picked to the national team as domestic tournaments are where players go to show their form. Though his absence was not a disciplinary measure, the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) left him out of the squad which may have influenced the BCCI selectors. BCCI COO Hemang Amin called KCA President George to confirm if there were any disciplinary issues and George confirmed there were none but skipping the tournament has damaged Samson's chances. His talent should be enough, say his supporters but then there are others who say that there are no excuses for missing team commitments. Therefore, the message is very clear from the KCA: there are policies and processes that players have to follow.

India Champions Trophy Squad

Rohit Sharma (C), Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill (VC), Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Washington Sundar, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Kuldeep Yadav