Former Pakistan player Danish Kaneria feels that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) named wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson as the captain of the India A team due to the pressure created on them by fans for overlooking him for the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia.
Samson will lead India A for the unofficial one-day series against New Zealand A. Samson was not even considered for the reserves list for the global event.
India A will play three ODIs against New Zealand A. “Sanju has a big fan following, and his batting style is made for the bouncy wickets of Australia. He has been made India A captain. BCCI was under pressure by fans for not selecting him in the World Cup squad, and that’s why he was handed the leadership role of India A,” said Kaneria.
The former spinner said that the captaincy would help the player to grow. “It is a proud moment if you lead your country in any category. This is the best opportunity for Sanju Samson. If he can win the series for India A as captain, it would be great,” Kaneria said.
India A squad against New Zealand A
Prithvi Shaw, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Rahul Tripathi, Rajat Patidar, Sanju Samson (captain), KS Bharat (wicket-keeper), Kuldeep Yadav, Shahbaz Ahmed, Rahul Chahar, Tilak Varma, Kuldeep Sen, Shardul Thakur, Umran Malik, Navdeep Saini, Raj Angad Bawa.