Gautam Gambhir has described leaving Sanju Samson out of the England series as an exceptionally difficult selection decision during his coaching tenure. Samson had been part of India’s T20 World Cup-winning squad earlier in the year, where he earned the Player of the Tournament award after scoring 97 not out, 89 and 89 in the last three matches.
The decision to omit Samson came after he scored 5, 0 and 1 during the tours of Ireland and England. Gambhir explained that India wanted to return to the combination that had won the World Cup, and that a few failures did not make established players bad.
“Obviously, it was tough [leaving him out in the UK]. Probably the toughest decision I’ve taken in my coaching tenure is obviously leaving him out in that England series. Because obviously, the way he’s performed before that. But again, sometimes you go with players’ form as well,” Gambhir said as quoted by Cricbuzz.
“We were always very clear. From my point of view, I was very clear that we want to go back to the combination that we had during the World Cup. Because those guys, after three or four failures, do not become bad players. And the kind of cricket we’ve played, if a team that has gone unbeaten from one World Cup to the other World Cup and has won the World Cup, I’m sure it’s a gun team. Suddenly, it doesn’t become a bad team after one or two series. And these guys do not become bad players after two or three failures. That is what these guys have shown here as well,” he added.
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Samson’s recall and Afghanistan performance
Samson was recalled for the Afghanistan T20I series that followed, where he featured throughout all three matches. He scored 117 runs across the series at a strike rate of 180, including two fifties. His performance included a 50 in the series-deciding match after registering another half-century in the previous game.
Sooryavanshi’s patient wait for opportunity
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, the 15-year-old who replaced Samson in the England series, did not feature in the playing XI in any of the three T20Is against Afghanistan. Gambhir framed the young player’s omission from the Afghanistan series as an exercise of patience. The head coach acknowledged the talent Sooryavanshi possessed but explained the reasoning behind the decision.
“From Vaibhav’s point of view, it was again a very clear conversation that he has to wait for his opportunity. We know the kind of talent he has. We know what he can do. But again, someone who’s done extremely well over a period of two years, obviously, will always be ahead of someone who’s just got into the team,” Gambhir said.
“So, whenever he gets that run, he will get a longer run as well. And that is what Indian cricket is all about. We want competition. We want that talent in the dressing room. But that’s how cricket goes. Whether you’re a 15-year-old or a 30-year-old, when you have to wait for your opportunity, you have to wait for your opportunity,” he concluded.
