Sanju Samson’s entry into India's Test, ODI teams confirmed? Gautam Gambhir joins ‘justice gang’
Published - 11 Mar 2026, 01:41 PM | Updated - 11 Mar 2026, 01:42 PM
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The biggest turnaround point for Team India behind their T20 World Cup 2026 success tale was arguably Sanju Samson. That might not be possible without the support of the team management. During his tough days, when Samson was not getting enough runs, the management kept him with the team, and he delivered at the high point when the team needed him the most.
During the latest conversation with ANI, Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir said that they had faith in Sanju Samson, which was why they never stopped supporting him despite the bad patch during India’s bilateral white-ball series with New Zealand.
Gautam Gambhir explained why he never lost hope in Sanju Samson
Gambhir said that he had never doubted the batter’s skills or credibility. He had the belief that the 31-year-old would surely bounce back. And that actually happened in reality.
“I backed him because I felt that there's a lot that Sanju Samson can deliver for the team. And it was never about that. Sometimes people go through a lean run”, Gautam Gambhir said.
Samson had a bad run against New Zealand before the T20 World Cup 2026
Sanju Samson was totally off-color during the T20I series against New Zealand. Ahead of the T20I World Cup 2026, Samson and Abhishek Sharma were the first-choice opening pair of Team India. Later, the Kerala-born dropped from the playing XI and promoted Ishan Kishan in the batting order to combine with Sharma for the opening combination.
In 5 matches against New Zealand, Sanju scored a total of only 46 runs, averaging 9.20.
Sanju Samson’s batting stats vs New Zealand in the 5-match T20I series:
| Innings | Runs | Highest Score | Batting Average | Strike Rate | 100s | 50s | 4s | 6s |
| 5 | 46 | 24 | 9.20 | 135.29 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 |
“There was a series against New Zealand, when he went through a lean run, but that was fine because it's not like your form will always be bad. So he needed that break. We gave him a couple of games off, and obviously, once he got back, we knew that he was going to deliver it for us”, Gautam Gambhir further added.
Samson announced his return with a bang. In a must-win Super 8 match of the T20 World Cup 2026 against the West Indies, the right-handed batter smashed an unbeaten 97. In the semifinals, against England, he registered 89, followed by an unbeaten 89-run knock in the Final against New Zealand.
But I feel I think he's done justice: Gautam Gambhir
The coach felt that those three matches could be the turning point of Samson’s career as well.
“Because we have seen his talent for a long time. If a player makes 3 T20s and 100s, if he goes through a lean phase, that is okay. That is acceptable. But I feel I think he's done justice, and hopefully he can kick-start his career again from now on. And that is important for him”, Gambhir mentioned.
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Sanju Samson Gautam Gambhir India National Cricket Team New Zealand National Cricket Team West Indies National Cricket Team England National Cricket Team ICC T20 World CupAbout the Author
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