Gautam Gambhir calls Sanju Samson’s England snub toughest decision

Gautam Gambhir said leaving Sanju Samson out of the England series was probably the toughest decision of his coaching tenure. He also urged teenage batter Vaibhav Sooryavanshi to wait for his opportunity despite his impressive performances for India

New Delhi: India head coach Gautam Gambhir called the decision to leave Sanju Samson out of the England series “probably the toughest” of his coaching tenure, while making it absolutely clear that teenaged batting star Vaibhav Sooryavanshi would have to wait his turn to play.

Over the last one week, fans thronging the Arun Jaitley Stadium strongly hoped to see Sooryavanshi play and bring out his fireworks in India colours on Indian soil for the first time. But his ardent fans will have to be patient, as Sooryavanshi did not get a game in the 3-0 series win over Afghanistan, which ended with a thumping 127-run win for India.

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“I think his talent itself is enough for him to be impressive. I think he showed what he is capable of. Someone doesn’t become a Player of the Tournament in a World Cup without having any talent, so he has done enough. Obviously, it was tough, probably the toughest decision I’ve taken in my coaching tenure, leaving him (Samson) out in that England series because obviously the way he performed before that,” Gambhir said in the post-match press conference.

Sooryavanshi became India’s youngest debutant a couple of months ago in England, where he made 42 runs in three matches. He followed that by finishing as the leading run-getter against Zimbabwe, with 151 runs at an average of 50.33 and a strike rate of 196.10, and took the Player of the Series award.

With Samson short of runs, Sooryavanshi looked the likely man to open against Afghanistan. Gambhir instead turned back to Abhishek Sharma and Samson, the pair that opened for India in their 2026 T20 World Cup triumph.

It turned out to be the right decision, as the duo made 346 runs between them across the series, including a 142-run opening stand on Thursday night.

“But again, sometimes you go with a player’s form as well, and in this series, I was always very clear, from my point of view, that we want to go back with the combination that we had during the World Cup because those guys, after three or four failures, don’t become bad players.

“The kind of cricket we play, 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. So, that means it doesn’t become a bad team after one or two series and these guys cannot become bad players after two or three failures,” added Gambhir.

He also revealed Sooryavanshi had been told in plain terms where he stood, and that age counted for nothing in the queue to play for India.

“So, that is what these guys have shown here as well. It was again a very clear conversation that he has to wait for his opportunity.

“We know what 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, that’s how cricket goes, whether you’re 15-year-old or 30-year-old. Then you have to wait for your opportunity. You have to wait for an opportunity,” he concluded.