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Indian cricket team wicket-keeper Sanju Samson's decision to not play in the Vijay Hazare Trophy for Kerala can massively dent his chances of getting selected for the Champions Trophy, according to a report by Times Of India. BCCI has made it clear that national side cricketers will have to play domestic cricket while not representing India. As a result, the report says that the selection committee is not happy with Samson's decision to skip the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Samson was not picked by the Kerala Cricket Association for their squad after he expressed his unavailability for the camp ahead of the competition.
"The selectors and the board have been very clear on the importance of domestic cricket. Last year, Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer lost central contracts for missing domestic matches without seeking permission. Even in Samson's case, the board and selectors were not given any reason why he missed the tournament. All that is known so far is that he spends much of his time in Dubai," BCCI sources told The Times of India.
"The selectors would want a valid reason. Otherwise, it will be difficult to consider him for the ODI season. Samson has had a bitter history with the KCA, but that needs to be sorted out for him to play domestic cricket. It cannot be that the state association and him have a misunderstanding and he misses out on game time," the source said.
A PTI report also made a similar claim as it stated that the three main wicket-keeper choices for Champions Trophy are Samson, Dhruv Jurel and Rishabh Pant. However, Pant and Jurel are in the lead considering Samson's absence from domestic cricket.
"In the case of keeper's slot, Rishabh Pant is the first choice by a country mile but the second keeper's slot could be a three-way fight between Dhruv Jurel, Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan. As of now, it looks like Jurel could win the battle."
"Samson could lose out as he decided to skip the Vijay Hazare Trophy," the report said.