India head coach Gautam Gambhir was at the centre of another press conference storm after the Indian team suffered a humiliating defeat against England in the third T20I. After India were bowled out for just 76 runs chasing a target of 202, questions arose over the management’s decision to drop Sanju Samson , the country’s hero at the T20 World Cup 2026. Addressing the media after the match, Gambhir said there was absolute clarity on the topic between him and Samson, but maintained that the conversation could not be made public.
Samson, who failed to fire in two T20Is against Ireland as well as the England T20I series opener, was dropped in favour of 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who has not hit the ground running either. However, Gambhir assured that he had given complete clarity to Samson over his role in India’s T20I team.
“The first thing is that regarding the clarity Sanju Samson needed, he has been given that from my side. That’s a conversation strictly between the player and the head coach. That conversation is not going to come outside,” Gambhir said in the press conference on Tuesday.
“Regarding Sanju, we are very clear. What he has done for India has been phenomenal, and sometimes you just have to look at the form of a certain player. There is no hard and fast rule that he cannot make a comeback in this series,” he added.
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Gambhir stated that international cricket is not about personnel, but team combination. Sooryavanshi was brought into the side because the management believed in the opening combination of him and Abhishek Sharma. However, the fault does not lie with Sooryavanshi alone; the entire Indian team has failed to fire on the tour of the United Kingdom, both against Ireland and in the England series so far.
“International cricket is about results, so whatever we feel is the best combination to give us that result, we play that combination and that playing XI. I’ve always been a big believer that everyone needs to earn their place and the right to play for India.”
“Regarding adaptability, obviously we haven’t adapted well. That’s the reality, be it Ireland or England. If we had adapted well or played better cricket, we probably would not have lost four games in a row,” said the India coach.