India head coach Gautam Gambhir has cleared the air over Sanju Samson’s omission from India’s Playing XI, saying the opening batter has been given complete clarity about his role.
Samson was left out for the second T20I against England in Manchester, a decision that paved the way for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s debut. India retained the same combination for the third T20I at Trent Bridge as well, but back-to-back defeats have put the team selection under scrutiny, with Samson’s exclusion now drawing criticism. The Sooryavanshi gamble hasn’t paid off so far, with the teenager managing scores of 10 and 13 in his first two games.
Gambhir, however, insisted that Samson has been kept fully informed of the team management’s plans. Unlike players in the past who have complained about a lack of communication, Samson knows exactly where he stands in India’s current plans, despite getting replaced after scores of 5, 0 and 1 in his last three innings.
“The clarity that should have been given to Sanju Samson, he has got from me. And that conversation is between a head coach and a player. That contents of the conversation we will obviously not tell you about,” Gambhir said.
“As far as clarity goes, we are absolutely clear that Sanju… what he had done for India during the World Cup has been phenomenal, and sometimes you just have to look at the form as well of a certain player. And there is no hard and fast rule that he cannot make a comeback in this series.
‘Everyone needs to earn their place’
The debate around Samson gathered further momentum when India’s T20 World Cup hero, who scored 321 runs in five innings, was left out of the squad for the three-match series in Zimbabwe later this month. The decision was made to give Samson a break, not to leave him in the dark. Zimbabwe has traditionally been a tour where India experiments with new faces, and it makes sense for Samson to make way for someone like Prabhsimran Singh to gain valuable experience. At the end of the day, it’s about fielding the best combination while also ensuring the present and future of Indian cricket remain in safe hands.
“More importantly, ultimately international cricket is about results. Whatever we feel is the best combination to give us the results, we play that combination, we play that playing XI. That is what I’ve always been a big believer of: that everyone needs to earn their place. Everyone needs to earn the right to play for India,” added Gambhir.