What happened to Daniel Sams? Why is RCB all-rounder not in Australia squad for WI tour?

Cricket Australia (CA) recently released a list of 23 players that will take on the West Indies and perhaps even Bangladesh before the World Cup in October. While most of the old guards made it into the preliminary list, some notable new additions will help strengthen Australia's bench strength as they aim for their maiden title at the tournament. The likes of Matthew Wade, Jhye Richardson, Riley Meredith, and Tanveer Sangha made the cut to the squad.

What happened to Daniel Sams?

However, one prominent name that was missing from the Australian squad was all-rounder Daniel Sams. The New South Wales-based cricketer recently featured for the RCB team in the IPL 2021. Moreover, he was in Australia's T20I squad that played New Zealand ahead of IPL 2021 and was also in glorious form in the Big Bash League which is why his exclusion from the Australian squad vs West Indies came as a surprise making fans wonder, "What happened to Daniel Sams?"

To answer the query, Daniel Sams recently requested Cricket Australia for a break from international cricket citing personal and mental health reasons. The board also obliged to the all-rounder's request gave him a break from the West Indies tour. The primary reason behind Daniel Sams' request to take a break from international could be the stress and fatigue that comes with living in a bio-bubble.

The RCB team star has had a difficult last few months. Ahead of the IPL 2021, he was transferred to RCB from DC. On top of that, he contracted COVID-19  just before the start of the tournament. Upon making a return, he could play just two games as the tournament was called off with immediate effect due to the emergence of COVID-19 cases in IPL 2021's bio-bubble.

Notably, Daniel Sams is not the first Australian player to take a break from cricket due to mental reasons. The likes of Glenn Maxwell, Will Pucovski and Nic Maddinson have also taken breaks from cricket in the past to focus on their mental health and well-being.

Daniel Sams IPL 2021 price

Daniel Sams received INR 30 lakh when he was purchased by the Delhi Capitals side in 2020. After being traded to RCB, the Daniel Sams IPL 2021 price was the same as the previous year, taking his IPL earnings to a total of INR 60 lakh rupees.

Austalia squad vs West Indies: Aaron Finch (Captain), Ashton Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Moises Henriques, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Riley Meredith, Josh Philippe, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, Tanveer Sangha, D'Arcy Short, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, Andrew Tye, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa.

SOURCE: CRICKET.COM.AU