Wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson will be available for Kerala’s upcoming matches of the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25. Samson confirmed his availability for the tournament after he was left out of the squad initially.
The Vijay Hazare Trophy is the prestigious 50-over domestic tournament in India. It is an important tournament for Samson as he looks for a spot in India’s squad for the Champions Trophy 2025.
While Samson has confirmed his availability, the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) is yet to decide whether to include him in the squad or not. KCA secretary Vinod S Kumar informed the status of his availability.
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Sanju Samson available for upcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy matches
While speaking to The Indian Express, KCA secretary Vinod S Kumar informed about Sanju Samson’s availability for the rest of the tournament. However, he also stated that the panel is yet to take a call on his selection.
“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,” Kumar said.
Vinod S Kumar also informed that senior batter Sachin Baby is still unavailable as he continues to recover from his injury that occurred during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy tournament.
Kerala has lost one game out of two games they have played so far. They lost their opening game to Baroda by 62 runs in which they went for a mammoth score of 403 runs in the first innings. The second match against Madhya Pradesh was in a thrilling position before rain washed out the game.
Why was Sanju Samson left out of the Kerala squad?
Earlier, Sanju Samson was left out of Kerala’s initial squad for the Vijay Hazare Trophy as he was unavailable for the team’s preparatory camp ahead of the tournament. The selectors decided to select the team by looking at the camp and ruled Samson out.
Samson recently led Kerala in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy where he scored 136 runs in five matches at an average of 27.20 and a strike rate of 149.45. However, he made himself unavailable for the team’s preparatory camp ahead of the Vijay Hazare Trophy. In his absence, Salman Nizar was appointed Kerala’s captain for the 50-over tournament.
Sanju Samson eyeing spot in India’s Champions Trophy squad
Sanju Samson has been in brilliant form with the bat for India in the T20I format. He has struck three hundreds in his last five T20I matches against Bangladesh and South Africa. All of his hundreds have come while opening the batting.
If Samson gets an opportunity in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, he will be aiming for a place in India’s Champions Trophy squad which is just months away now. He has a good ODI record with 510 runs in 16 matches at an average of 56.66 and a strike rate of 99.60.
His maiden international hundred came in an ODI during India’s tour of South Africa when he smashed an unbeaten 108 to take his team to a 78-run win over the hosts.