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Sanju Samson Replaces KL Rahul Hours Before T20 Series Opener against West Indies

Written by Sumit Seth

In a major development, India batter Sanju Samson has replaced KL Rahul in the T20 squad for the five-match T20I series against West Indies. The Kerala batter was part of the ODI squad where he managed to score a fifty against the host nation in the second ODI match, but wasn’t included in India’s shorter-format squad with the likes of bigwigs like KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant making a comeback.

Nonetheless, in a dramatic move, Samson was included in the T20I squad as KL Rahul had to pull out after he contracted Covid-19 while recovering from sports hernia surgery which took place in Germany last month.

“The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named wicket-keeper batter Sanju Samson as a replacement for KL Rahul in the T20I squad for the ongoing West Indies series. KL Rahul was earlier named in the squad and his participation in the T20I series was subject to fitness. The batter tested positive for COVID-19 last week and has been advised rest by the BCCI medical team,” a BCCI release said.

Sanju Samson was part of the squad in the recently concluded ODI series that the team won 3-0.

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Sumit Seth