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Former Indian chief selector MSK Prasad has finally broken his silence on dropping Sanju Samson from the T20I squad after just three failures. Sanju Samson first lost his place in the Indian XI on the current England tour and then he was dropped for the Zimbabwe tour.
He could only score 13 runs in three innings before being dropped from India’s T20I squad. This caused a huge uproar among the fans and the cricket world. However, Prasad believes that Samson has not been dropped from India’s T20 squad despite missing the upcoming Zimbabwe tour. Recently, S Badrinath had questioned Gautam Gambhir’s support to Tilak Verma after Sanju Samson was dropped from the T20 squad.
MSK Prasad rejects claims that Sanju Samson lost his place due to three failures
MSK Prasad believes that the Indian selectors have rested Sanju Samson to give young players like Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Prabhsimran Singh a chance at the international level.
He said that it is difficult to believe that the player who was India’s player of the tournament in the 2026 T20 World Cup will be dropped after just a few bad innings.
He believes that the Zimbabwe tour is being used mainly to test India’s bench strength and try out new combinations. The former chief selector also pointed out that Samson has already been included in India’s squad for the upcoming Asian Games, which “clearly tells me that he has not been dropped – he has just been rested.”
Don’t think he has been dropped: MSK Prasad
“I personally feel that someone who helped India win the T20 World Cup and was the best player of the tournament cannot be removed just like that,” RevSportz quoted MSK Prasad as saying.
“I believe it is about giving him rest and giving Vaibhav Suryavanshi a chance. The selectors want to see if he is ready for international cricket. Otherwise, it would not be fair to leave out a player of Sanju’s stature. I don’t think he has been ruled out.”
“At the same time, you can’t ignore someone who has won a T20 World Cup for India. The first six months after a World Cup are usually about experimentation,” the former Indian cricketer said.
“The selectors gradually try different combinations before deciding on their core group 12 to 18 months before the next World Cup. This may simply be part of that process. But if someone says Sanju has been dropped because of three failures, I completely disagree.”
MSK Prasad says that after being out, Sanju Samson will return even stronger.
Prasad does not think that this break will affect Samson’s confidence. He believes that the Kerala wicketkeeper has become a much more consistent player over the years and has already proved himself with match-winning performances for India, including his heroics in the T20 World Cup earlier this year. Meanwhile, Aakash Chopra responded to Kapil Dev’s criticism of Virat Kohli’s Test retirement.
He said, “He is an extraordinary talent. If someone says he has been sidelined, I can’t accept it. It won’t affect his confidence in any way. If anything, it will motivate him to work even harder.”
MSK Prasad sent a big message to Ajit Agarkar regarding Sanju Samson’s future.
The former Indian wicketkeeper admitted that India now have a lot of opening options including Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Prabhsimran Singh, Sai Sudarshan and Shubman Gill, making it very difficult to select. He believes that tours like Zimbabwe are the right time to test young players before major tournaments.
Prasad suggested the current chief selector Ajit Agarkar to tell Samson that he is one of the key players of this Indian team and continue to support him. However, he understands why the selectors wanted to experiment keeping the 2028 ICC T20 World Cup in mind.
He signed off by saying, “How he manages his fitness and performances over the next 18 to 20 months is completely in his hands. I don’t think the selectors will take such a decision again unless his performances decline significantly. For me, Sanju Samson should continue to be an integral part of India’s main T20 team.”