Sanju Samson has been the centre of attraction regarding his recent tussle with the Kerala Cricket Association. The 30-year-old will be seen in the Indian colours when the Men In Blue take on England in the 1st T20I at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Wednesday.

The Rajasthan Royals captain has been left out of Kerala’s squad for the Ranji Trophy match against Madhya Pradesh. In his absence, former RCB batter Sachin Baby will lead Kerala in the second leg of the Ranji Trophy which is scheduled to start on January 23 in Trivandrum.

Sanju’s exclusion from the Kerala squad sparked a controversy. The Indian wicketkeeper-batter also missed the Vijay Hazare Trophy despite leading Kerala in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

It was reported that the player didn’t report for the three-day camp ahead of the tournament and he was eventually not selected for the domestic ODI tournament. Later KCA President Jayesh George took a dig at the player citing he cannot play for Kerala whenever he wants.

He told Mediaone, I am not sure if Samson missing the tournament was the reason he was excluded. The reason he was not added in the Vijay Hazare squad was because he sent a one-line text saying he would not be available for the 30-member preparatory camp.

“Later he sent a message stating he is available for selection. Be it Sanju Samson or any other player, KCA has a policy in place that needs to be respected.”

Samson’s non-participation in the VHT might have played a part in him not being selected in India’s Champions Trophy squad.

Sachin Baby (captain), Rohan S Kunnummal, Baba Aparajith, Vishnu Vinod, Mohammed Azharuddeen, Akshay Chandran, Shoun Roger, Jalaj Saxena, Salman Nizar, Aditya Sarwate, Basil Thampi, MD Nidheesh, NP Basil, NM Sharafuddeen, EM Sreehari.

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