Did Being A Leftie Help Pant Score Over Sanju?

'Pant can give that differential variable that they are looking for in the batting order.'

Sanju Samson's exclusion from the Indian team for the ICC Champions Trophy was a major talking point.

Ahead of the team selection for the Champions Trophy last week, Samson had been in staggering from in T20 Internationals with three centuries from his last five matches. He had also stroked a century in his last ODI appearance, against South Africa in December 2023.

In 16 ODIs since his debut in the format back in 2021, Samson has scored 510 runs in 14 innings at an average of 56.66 and a strike rate of 99.60, with a best score of 108, and three fifties to his name.

The Indian selectors preferred to pick Rishabh Pant ahead of Samson for the second wicketkeeper's slot behind K L Rahul, who is the designated wicketkeeper-batter for India in ODIs.

Despite being one of India's top performers in Test cricket, Pant has failed to live up to his lofty standards in white ball cricket. He has made 871 runs in 37 ODIs at an average of 33, while scoring 1,209 runs in 76 T20Is at an average of 23.

Former India 'keeper Dinesh Karthik believes the selectors preferred Pant, as him being a left-hander adds variety to the Indian batting line-up, comprising mainly of right-handers.

India have right-handers in their top and middle order in ODIs, featuring Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, K L Rahul and Hardik Pandya.

'It almost had to happen, isn't it? It was either Rishabh Pant or Sanju Samson. I know you can look at both of them as pure batters, but I think they have tilted towards Rishabh Pant for just the one reason because he is a left-hander. He can give that differential variable that they are looking for in the batting order,' Karthik said on the HeyCBwithDK show on Cricbuzz.

What also went against Samson was the fact he missed out on the Vijay Hazare Trophy one-day tournament. In a shocking move, the Kerala Cricket Association dropped Samson from the Vijay Hazare Trophy squad after he informed the KCA of his unavailability for the preparatory camp before the tournament, which proved to be detrimental for his Champions Trophy hopes.

'Sanju Samson was so close, and the fact that he didn't play in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, I am sure, has played a part in that too,' DK added.