The Indian squad for the Australia ODI series was released on Saturday (4th October), where the selectors made a drastic change by appointing Shubman Gill as the captain.
In the squad, KL Rahul has been named the main wicketkeeper, with Dhruv Jurel as the backup. But the question remains why is Sanju Samson not included, despite scoring a century in his last ODI against South Africa, where he made 108 runs off 114 balls?
When asked about this, BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar mentioned that Samson scored his last century while playing at No. 3, whereas Jurel was selected for his ability to contribute in the middle order.
Sanju Samson has an impressive ODI average of 56.7 and a strike rate of 99.6, with one century and three half-centuries. This shows that he is one of India’s best wicketkeeper-batters, yet he still finds himself left out.
BCCI’s decision regarding Sanju Samson has left both him and his fans confused, as there has been no fixed batting position assigned to him. Sometimes he plays at No. 3, sometimes he opens, and other times he’s pushed down to No. 7 or 8.
Despite missing out on the ODI selection, Sanju Samson has been included in the T20 squad led by Suryakumar Yadav. India’s three ODI matches are scheduled for October 19th (1st ODI), 23rd (2nd ODI), and 25th (3rd ODI), while the five-match T20 series will begin on October 29th.
Also read: Team India’s ODI and T20 Squads for Australia Tour 2025: Check Full Squad
Stats Comparison
| Stats | Sanju Samson | Dhruv Jurel (Domestic) |
|---|---|---|
| Matches | 16 | 19 |
| Innings | 14 | 15 |
| Runs | 510 | 516 |
| Average | 56.66 | 46.9 |
| Strike Rate | 99.6 | 78.06 |
| 100s | 1 | 1 |
| 50s | 3 | 4 |
| Highest Score | 108 | 101 |
- Note: Dhruv Jurel has played only one ODI for Team India; hence, his domestic performance has been considered for the stats comparison.
India’s Squad for Australia tour 2025
India’s ODI squad: Shubman Gill (Captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (VC), Axar Patel, KL Rahul (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Yashasvi Jaiswal.
India’s T20I squad: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill (VC), Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Sanju Samson (WK), Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar.
Written by: Manjunath S
