IND vs AFG - Why netizens are slamming Rohit Sharma over Sanju Samson's exclusion from 1st T20I

In the 1st of the three-match T20I series between India and Afghanistan being held at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali, the host nation won the toss and elected to bowl. Making a comeback to the T20I side after 14 months, India captain Rohit Sharma announced the squad, but many player exclusions got netizens riled up. 

Players such as wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson, wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav, and seamer Avesh Khan were not part of the playing XI. Additionally, opener Yashasvi Jaiswal was unavailable for selection due to a sore right groin.

ALSO READ | IND vs AFG 1st T20I: India opt to field, no place for Sanju Samson in playing XI, Yashasvi Jaiswal also misses out

Jitesh Sharma was chosen over Sanju Samson as the wicketkeeper-batter, with the former having made his debut during the Asian Games 2023 and played seven T20Is, scoring 69 runs. Meanwhile, Samson, with 374 runs from 24 games at an average of 19.68 and a strike rate of 133.57 along with one half-century, missed out. 

Some fans online speculated that Samson's exclusion was influenced by internal politics within the Indian camp. Many even accused Rohit Sharma of playing favourites and showing preference to his Mumbai Indians (MI) teammate Tilak Varma.

Another surprising exclusion was left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav, the leading wicket-taker in the last series against South Africa making way for Ravi Bishnoi. Despite his past performance, he was benched, and wrist spinner Ravi Bishnoi, who did not feature in a single game against South Africa, got the nod. Bishnoi subsequently rose to the second spot in the ICC T20I bowlers' rankings.

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As of writing this article, the ongoing match saw the end of 10 overs and Afghanistan scored 57 runs and lost their top order. Rahmanullah Gurbaz departed for 23 runs, Ibrahim Zadran for 25 runs and Rahmat Shah for 3. Axar Patel picked up 2 wickets while Shivam Dube took 1 wicket.

Teams:

India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma(w), Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar

Afghanistan (Playing XI): Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Ibrahim Zadran(c), Rahmat Shah, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Karim Janat, Gulbadin Naib, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Naveen-ul-Haq, Mujeeb Ur Rahman.