Wicketkeeper-batsman Sanju Samson will be available for Kerala's upcoming 2024-25 Vijay Hazare Trophy matches. Samson confirmed his availability for the tournament after initially being left out of the squad.
The Vijay Hazare Trophy is India's prestigious 50+ domestic tournament. It is an important tournament for Samson as he seeks a place in India's squad for the 2025 Champions Trophy.
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 about his availability.
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Sanju Samson available for upcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy matches
While talking to The Indian Express, KCA Secretary Vinod S Kumar informed about Sanju Samson's availability for the rest of the tour. However, he also stated that the jury is yet to receive a call on his selection.
“Sanju informed us that he is available for selection in the last two days. We have yet to receive a call for its inclusion. There is already a full contingent in Hyderabad and only two matches have been played,” said Kumar.
Vinod S Kumar also informed that senior batsman Sachin Baby is still unavailable as he continues to recover from the injury sustained during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy tournament.
Kerala have lost one match out of two matches played so far. They lost the opening game to Baroda by 62 runs in which they went for a huge score of 403 runs in the first innings. The second match against Madhya Pradesh was in a thrilling position before rain spoiled the game.
Why was Sanju Samson dropped from 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 pre-tournament training camp. The selectors decided to select the team by looking at the camp and left 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 became unavailable for the team's training camp ahead of the Vijay Hazare Trophy. In his absence, Salman Nizar was named Kerala's captain for the 50-over tournament.
Sanju Samson sees himself in India's squad for the Champions Trophy
Sanju Samson has been in brilliant form with the bat for India in the T20I format. He has hit three hundreds in his last five T20I matches against Bangladesh and South Africa. All his hundreds came while opening the batting.
If Samson gets an opportunity in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, he will be chasing a place in India's squad for the Champions Trophy, which is just a few months away. He has a good ODI record of 510 runs in 16 matches at an average of 56.66 and a strike rate of 99.60.
His first international hundred came in an ODI during India's tour of South Africa when he smashed an unbeaten 108 to lead his side to a 78-run win over the hosts.