Sooryavanshi selection emotional, Samson omission illogical: Parthiv Patel

Former India wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel said selecting Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was emotionally understandable but questioned Sanju Samson's omission from the Indian T20 side. He said the decision defied logic despite acknowledging Samson's inconsistency in previous years

New Delhi: Wading into the debate surrounding Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s inclusion in the Indian T20 team at the expense of Sanju Samson, former India wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel said accommodating the teenage batter could be seen as an emotionally right decision, but dropping the senior batter defies logic.

Speaking on JioStar, Patel also acknowledged that Samson had been dropped in the past because of inconsistency, but said his current omission was difficult to explain.

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“Why is it always Sanju Samson who misses out? If you look at Sanju Samson’s career over the last 11-12 years, the one question that has always followed him is consistency,” Patel said.

“Either the player who isn’t scoring quickly enough gets left out, or the one who has been inconsistent. You can’t make decisions based on both emotion and logic. So emotionally, yes, it was the right call to give Vaibhav Sooryavanshi a chance.

“But if you go purely by logic, then why has Sanju Samson been left out? So, I think this decision was taken emotionally,” he added.

The 15-year-old Sooryavanshi was picked after Samson, who was the Player of the Tournament in this year’s T20 World Cup, failed to score in three consecutive matches. However, the young batter has not made much of an impact so far.

India have already conceded the series 0-3 to England, with the fifth and final match scheduled for Saturday.

Patel said there is always a perception that the player left out is the better option.

“This is just how we are. Whenever someone isn’t in the team, we automatically feel they’re the one who would have done a better job. At the last T20 World Cup, Shreyas Iyer wasn’t there, and everyone kept asking, ‘Why isn’t Shreyas Iyer in the team?’

“Now that he’s back, people are saying Rajat Patidar should be in the side,” he said.