New Delhi:
The Indian cricket squad for the upcoming three-match series against Bangladesh was announced and it featured some new names. There was no Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav while Krunal Pandya and Yuzvendra Chahal returned. Virat Kohli was rested with Rohit Sharma appointed captain. However, the squad saw the inclusion of Kerala batsman Sanju Samson and Mumbai power-hitter Shivam Dube in the side. The return of Samson has been a long time in the coming and former India batsman Gautam Gambhir appreciated his inclusion on Twitter.
"This is well & truly through the gap by @IamSanjuSamson!!! Congratulations on being picked in the T20 squad. Soft hands, nimble feet and hopefully a sane head...go Sanju grab ur moment, long overdue," Gambhir tweeted. Samson played his sole match for India -- a T20 -- in July 2015 when a second- string team toured Zimbabwe. He was 19 then.
However, in the last couple of seasons, Samson has been in good form not just in the Indian Premier League but in domestic tournaments as well. Samson was consistent for the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL but in the 2019 Vijay Hazare Trophy, he shot to prominence by smashing 212 against Goa in Alur. This was the highest score in the history of the Vijay Hazare Trophy and the spotlight immediately came on Samson for his inclusion in the Indian cricket team. In the series against South Africa A, he smashed 91 in Thiruvananthapuram as India A won the series 4-1.
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The squad also sees the inclusion of Shivam Dube, who has been performing aggressively for Mumbai in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Dube bowls right arm medium pace and is seen as a like-for-like replacement for Hardik Pandya, who has been currently sidelined from the Indian cricket team due to a back injury. The first match of the series between India and Bangladesh will be played on November 3 at the Arun Jaitley stadium in New Delhi followed by matches in Nagpur and Rajkot.
