IND vs WI: Three reasons why Sanju Samson will not play second India vs West Indies ODI

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India will lock horns with West Indies in the second ODI at the Kensington Oval in BridgeTown, Barbados on Saturday, July 29. The Rohit Sharma-led team defeated West Indies by five wickets in the first ODI.

Chasing 115, India lost five wickets to complete the chase in 22.5 overs. There were major changes in the Indian batting order as Rohit Sharma demoted himself at seven, while Virat Kohli did not bat at all.

The non-inclusion of Sanju Samson and Ruturaj Gaikwad emerged as a major talking point from the first match. Samson especially, was expected to be part of the eleven ahead of Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav.

The chances of Samson finding a place in the India eleven playing eleven for the second ODI is also slim. Here are the three reasons why Sanju Samson will not play in the second ODI as well.

Suryakumar ahead of Samson in Rohit and Dravid's pecking order

Captain Rohit Sharma and coach Rahul Dravid are hell-bent on watching Suryakumar Yadav succeed in the ODIs ahead of World Cup 2023. The backing Suryakumar has is very strong. Notably, the batter played ahead of Sanju Samson in the first ODI despite having three ducks on the trot in his last three 50-over games for India.

He is being persisted despite having an ODI batting average of just over 20. Samson, was ignored despite carrying carrying an average of 66 and scoring 36, 2*, 30*, 86*, 15 and 43* runs in his last six ODIs. Dropping Suryakumar Yadav after just one outing is highly unlikely.

Ishan Kishan's fifty in the first ODI

Sanju Samson was also competing with Ishan Kishan for a spot in the first ODI. Rohit sacrificed his position to give Kishan the chance to open alongside Shubman Gill. The southpaw grabbed the opportunity with both his hands and top-scored for the team with 46 off 52.

Widely being considered as India's backup opener for the World Cup 2023, Ishan Kishan is not part of the T20I squad and the team could want him to play the remaining two ODIs as his next assignment could be the 50-over Asia Cup which starts from August 30.

Kishan's wicket-keeping skills have also impressed Rohit on the tour. There could be plans to prepare Kishan as the backup wicketkeeper-batter as well. Rishabh Pant is out with injury and KL Rahul would comeback but after a long injury layoff.

India won the first ODI and Samson being part of the T20I squad

Also, India managed to win the first ODI and team's usually don't like to change a winning combination. With a 2-0 unassailable lead on the cards, India would most certainly walk in with the same team. The third match, possibly a dead rubber, would then give India an opportunity to test the remaining players including Samson.

Also, the Kerala star is part of the 5-match T20I series which will follow the ODI leg. Therefore, the management is not very worried about the chances Samson would get on the tour.

Same is the case with Ruturaj Gaikwad and Axar Patel who would have to wait for the third ODI to feature in the India playing eleven.