Sanju Samson is part of the plan for the T20 World Cup 2022: Chetan Sharma.

The BCCI declared the teams for the Test and T20I series against Sri Lanka on Saturday (February 19). While there were no significant shocks in the T20I squad, the selectors dismissed four veteran players from the Test squad and replaced them with uncapped spinner Saurabh Kumar for the two-match Test series.

The single significant talking point from the T20I team was the return of Sanju Samson, who last played for the Men in Blue on their tour to Sri Lanka in 2021. The wicketkeeper-batsman has taken the position of Rishabh Pant, who, like Virat Kohli, has been rested for the T20I series.

Samson’s return for the Sri Lanka series isn’t a one-time occurrence, as chief selector Chetan Sharma has stated that he is in the running for the T20 World Cup in 2022. Sharma told the press when the squad was announced: “Sanju is a part of our plan. Most significantly, we must determine which cricketer will be useful on Australian pitches. He is unquestionably in our plans [for the T20 World Cup in Australia later this year].”

Samson has been in and out of the national squad since his comeback in 2019. He was dropped for the 2020/21 season but returned to the national team for the Sri Lanka tour in 2021 when the first-choice players were unavailable.

When the seniors returned from the SL trip, he was dropped from the squad. He had a good IPL 2021 season, scoring 484 runs for Rajasthan Royals and hitting at 136.72.

With Ishan Kishan failing to capitalize on opportunities, the position of reserve wicketkeeper remains open, and Samson will have an opportunity to secure it during the SL series.

The series’ three T20Is will be contested on February 24, 26, and 27. Following the T20Is, the sides will face each other in two Test matches.