Rishabh Pant is a better wicketkeeper: Gavaskar on Samson’s Champions Trophy snub-OxBig News Network

The legendary Sunil Gavaskar has put forth the rationale behind India opting for Rishabh Pant over Sanju Samson for the upcoming edition of the Champions Trophy. Since making his international debut way back in 2015, the 30-year-old Samson has been in and out of the national team in the limited-overs formats.

Gavaskar said that Samson was hard done by after being left out for the multi-nation event to be held in Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates. Gavaskar was of the opinion that Pant edged out Samson by virtue of being a better wicketkeeper and a better game-changer.

Champions Trophy India squad announcement Highlights

“Very tough because the man has been scoring hundreds and hundreds of runs. There is no excuse to leave him out. But he was pitted against Rishabh Pant, who we all know can be a game-changer. Plus Pant is a left-hander and he is probably the better wicketkeeper, although he might not be the better batter than Samson,” Gavaskar said in an interview with India Today.

“Pant can change the game perhaps a little more than Samson and that’s reason why Samson missed out. But Samson must not feel dejected because all Indian cricket lovers will have sympathy for him for what he has achieved,” Gavaskar added.

Also Read: Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami named as India announce Rohit Sharma-led Champions Trophy squad

In his last assignment for India, Samson smashed two hundreds in the T20I series on South African soil. Although he scored two ducks, his knocks of 107 and 109 not out in Durban and Johannesburg garnered praise from the Indian cricket fraternity.

In 16 ODIs thus far since his debut back in July 2021 against Sri Lanka, Samson has scored 510 runs at an average of 56.66 and a strike-rate of 99.60 with a hundred and three fifties to show for his efforts. His top score of 108 came against the Proteas back in December 2023 in Paarl.

India’s squad for Champions Trophy 2024

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

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