Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir in the recent press conference after the third T20I said that wicket-keeper batter Sanju Samson was given clarity about his omission. Sanju Samson had played a key role in helping the team win the 2026 T20 World Cup. He scored 97*, 89 and 89 respectively in the final 3 matches of the tournament. However, after failures in Ireland and the first T20I, Samson was dropped from the side in the second T20I. Samson also was not picked in the squad for the Zimbabwe series later this month. Gautam Gambhir said ‘’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’’. Indian head coach also said that Sanju Samson can still make a comeback in this series. "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.’’ Gambhir added. Watch the video here.
Gautam Gambhir: We have made lot of changes and missing key players
Before these losses in Ireland and England, Team India had gone unbeaten for 16 consecutive series or tournaments culminating in the first successful defence of a T20 World Cup by any team. India suffered their biggest defeat in the third T20I against England. There has been pressure and Gambhir said that this was a side that was reset and had some new faces which is why the result have not gone in their favour. Speaking about the losses Gambhir said "Conditions matter a little but if you see there are changes in the T20 side. When you go to reset a side, sometimes you get such performances. There are a lot of changes from the XI that played the T20 World Cup final to now. Be it the captain, be it the opening batsman. There is no Hardik Pandya, there is no Jasprit Bumrah.’’
England are leading the series 2-0 with two more matches left in the series. Indian captain Shreyas Iyer has lost four out of the five matches as a captain and the pressure keeps piling. It will be interesting to see if Sanju Samson gets a chance in the upcoming matches. The fourth T20I will be played on 9th July and India will be keen to bounce back.
