Sreesanth vs KCA: Sreesanth jumped into the controversy between Samson and the Kerala Cricket Association, KCA reminded of the match-fixing incident
Now Sreesanth has also jumped into the controversy between Sanju Samson and the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA). He has criticized the Kerala Cricket Association for not allowing Samson to play in the domestic tournament matches. However, KCA has also replied to him. Actually, this controversy started in January when he was not selected in the Kerala team for the Vijay Hazare Trophy match. After this, the Kerala team had to face defeat. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor also reacted to this and held KCA responsible for not selecting Samson in the Champions Trophy team.
Sreesanth made serious allegations against KCA
Sreesanth told Onmanorama about the matter, ‘KCA brings players from other states to play in the Kerala team. Why do they do this? It is insulting to our Malayali cricketers. We have only one player at the international level, Sanju. Let us all support him. The so-called KCA has not produced any international player since Samson. We have Sachin, Nidhish, Vishnu Vinod and many other brilliant players, but are they motivating them to play at a higher level?’
KCA responded to Sreesanth
On this, KCA responded, ‘When Sreesanth was in jail facing charges in the match fixing case, KCA officials met him and supported him. Although the court dismissed the criminal case, the truth is that he has not been acquitted in the match fixing case. In this situation, Sreesanth has no need to worry about protecting other players. It was only because of the protective approach of KCA that Sreesanth was given opportunities in matches including Ranji Trophy after completing his punishment.
Samson’s case had gained momentum
Samson was not selected for the Vijay Hazare Trophy because he did not participate in the state team’s training camp. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor surrounded the Kerala Cricket Association by tweeting and made serious allegations against them. Tharoor told how Samson had already informed the KCA about his inability to attend the training camp between the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT).
Tharoor had made serious allegations against the KCA
Tharoor wrote on the tweet, ‘The sorry saga of the Kerala Cricket Association and Sanju Samson –the player wrote to KCA, in advance, regretting his inability to attend a training camp between the SMA and the Vijay Hazare Trophy tournaments, and was promptly dropped from the squad — has now resulted in Sanju’s exclusion from the Indian team. A batsman who has a highest score of 212* in the Hazare, who averages 56.66 in ODIs for India (including a century in his last outing, against South Africa) is having his career destroyed by the egos of cricket administrators. Doesn’t it bother the KCA bosses that by leaving Sanju out, they ensured Kerala didn’t even reach the quarter-finals of the Hazare? Where does this leave him?’
KCA President told the whole story
After this, Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) President Jayesh George criticized Sanju Samson. The KCA President claimed that Samson had sent him a message stating that he would not be there for the training camp, after which the board was forced to go ahead and announce the team. He told Media One, ‘He was not included in the Vijay Hazare team because he sent a one-line message saying that he would not be available for the 30-member preparation camp. We all thought that he would lead the team as he is our white ball format captain and he also led in the Syed Mushtaq Ali season.’
‘Samson sent a message after the team was selected’
George told that when the team was selected, Samson later replied to him again that he was ready for selection. This is against the policies of KCA. The KCA President said that Samson cannot represent the state team whenever he feels like it. Samson must know that it is because of KCA that he got a place in the Indian team. George said, ‘So we went ahead and announced the team and later he again sent a message saying that he is available for selection.’
‘Samson should respect KCA policies’
George said, ‘Whether it is Sanju Samson or any other player, KCA has its own policy which everyone needs to respect. We all know that Sanju does not need a camp to be in the team, but is the Kerala team’s policy like that? Is our policy such that he can come and represent whenever he feels like? How did Samson reach the Indian team? It was only through KCA. This does not mean that you should take the field only when you feel like it.’
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