India suffered a massive blow following a disappointing batting display in the first ODI of three-match series against Bangladesh. Put in to bat, the Men in Blue were bowled out for 186 in 41.2 overs. Chasing the total, Bangladesh went on to win the series opener by one wicket.
The match saw the return of stalwarts like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. However, the Indian batting lineup was carried largely by KL Rahul’s brilliant knock in Dhaka. Ahead of the first ODI, BCCI had confirmed Rishabh Pant’s absence from the ODI series, which seemingly confirmed Rahul booking a middle-order spot in the XI.
Rahul also kept the wickets in the run-chase but India’s senior wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik feels one name has slipped off the radar in list of potential wicket-keeper batsman option for the side – that of Sanju Samson.
The Kerala-born cricketer was part of India’s previous ODI assignment against New Zealand last month. However, Samson played in only one of the three matches while Pant played the rest. For the Bangladesh ODIs, Samson was not included in the squad as Ishan Kishan was named as a backup wicketkeeper.
As per Karthik, Samson has done well in the limited opportunities he has got in ODIs.
“Another name we have missed out and I think we have to speak about him. He is one of my favourites Sanju Samson. He has done so well at the middle-order in the limited opportunities he has got. Among these three wicketkeepers with Ishan Kishan (being the third), taking the keeping aside, they are going to look at who are the specialists and who will take the role,” Karthik said during an interview.
Notably, Samson has played in 11 ODIs so far, scoring 330 at an average of 66 and a strike rate of 104.76.