Ahead of the India vs Pakistan clash in Pallekele at the ongoing Asia Cup 2023, thousands of fans had gethered outside the stadium. Among them was a group of Sanju Samson fans. It is to be noted that Samson is not part of the Asia Cup squad. He is however travelling as a reserve with the Indian team. Hence, he was not available for selection in the ODI vs Pakistan.
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But the fans continue to miss him. The fact that India got off to a terrible start with the bat in the first innings after winning toss and batting first, hsi fans posted updated on social media that Samson was needed in the team.
Check banner of Samson outside the Pallekele stadium below:
Sanju Samson fans in Pallekele. [@rohitjuglan] pic.twitter.com/NiODOzY0fU
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) September 2, 2023
Coming to the match, India won the toss and opted to bat first. But the decision backfired as Pakistan pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi dismissed Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli cheaply. With the senior Indian batters back to the hut, the pressure got to the Indian team and they lost Shreyas Iyer and Shubman Gill for a low score as well. The pitch was not conduvice to batting and it showed in the first 15 overs of the match.
Sanju Samson has had a better run in ODIs than in other formats. He has never played Test cricket for India but has featured in 24 T20Is, scoring 374 runs at an average of 19.68 and strike rate of 133.57. In 13 ODIs, Sanju has scored 390 runs at a healthy average of 55.71 and strike rate of 104. He has however scored no hundreds but has hit 3 fifties.
Before the squad announcement for Asia Cup 2023, Samson's name was being discussed for selection. However, KL Rahul was named as the first-choice wicketkeeper and Kishan was named as his replacement. With KL Rahul ruled out of the first two matches of the tournament, Kishan replaced him in the XI while Samson remains the travelling reserve. Being a traveling reserve means Sanju will be the first man to replace a batter of wicketkeeper if someone gets injured.
