As the Indian domestic cricket season gears up for another thrilling chapter, the Irani Cup 2024 is set to take centre stage. The prestigious tournament, featuring Mumbai and Rest of India, will be played in the first week of October at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Stadium in Lucknow.

Why no place for Sanju Samson in the Rest of India squad?

While the squads for both teams have been announced, the absence of certain notable names, despite not being part of the Indian squad for the second Test against Bangladesh, has raised eyebrows. One such player is the talented wicketkeeper-batter, Sanju Samson.

Samson’s omission from the Rest of India squad is primarily attributed to his likely inclusion in the Indian T20I team for the upcoming series versus Bangladesh. Given that the T20I series is scheduled to begin on October 6, Samson’s presence in the Indian camp leading up to the series would be crucial.

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The Irani Cup, however, is scheduled to be played from October 1 to 5. This clash of dates means that players selected for the Irani Cup would miss the Indian camp, which is set to begin before the Bangladesh T20I.

Hence, it is understandable why Samson, along with other regular T20I players like Suryakumar Yadav, Rinku Singh, Arshdeep Singh and Ravi Bishnoi, have not been included in the Rest of India squad for the Irani Cup. Their focus will be on preparing for the T20I series against Bangladesh.

Squads for the Irani Cup 2024

Rest of India: Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Abhimanyu Easwaran (vc), Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel (wk)*, Ishan Kishan (wk), Manav Suthar, Saransh Jain, Prasidh Krishna, Mukesh Kumar, Yash Dayal*, Ricky Bhui, Shashwat Rawat, Khaleel Ahmed, Rahul Chahar

*If not included in India’s playing XI for Kanpur Test

Mumbai:  Ajinkya Rahane (c), Prithvi Shaw, Aayush Mhatre, Shreyas Iyer, Siddhesh Lad, Suryansh Shedge, Hardik Tamore(wk), Sidhaant Adhatrao(wk), Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Shardul Thakur, Himanshu Singh, Mohit Avasthi, Mohammed Juned Khan, Royston Dias

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