New Delhi: Sanju Samson’s immense talent was never in doubt but a tough bilateral series against New Zealand prompted the team management to give him a break ahead of the T20 World Cup, head coach Gautam Gambhir said after Kerala batsman took India to the semi-finals with a brilliant knock.
Samson scored an unbeaten 97 under pressure to post a challenging 196-run chase against West Indies on Sunday night.
“Obviously, he struggled in the series against New Zealand. So it’s important to give him (Samson) a break sometimes because you want to take the pressure off of him as well,” head coach Gambhir said at the post-match press conference.
After being pushed down the order during the Asia Cup – a move that affected his rhythm – Samson was given the full series against New Zealand. However, a string of low scores – 10, 6, 0, 24, 6 – drew growing criticism.
He did not play in India’s opener against the United States. Abhishek Sharma returned to the Namibia team due to illness but has since been absent again.
Rinku Singh’s personal tragedy (the death of his father), coupled with the team management’s desire to avoid an overabundance of left-handers at the senior level, led to Samson’s return to the XI.
Asked about his conversation with Samson during this stop-and-go phase, Gambhir said:
“I’ve spoken to everyone and the bottom line is the players in this team are world-class players and that’s why they represent the country. We’ve always known the talent that Sanju has. Three T20 hundreds, not many people have that talent so we’ve always known that.
“We always knew he would be there for us whenever we needed him at the World Cup.”
Gambhir believes Samson’s winning streak came against Zimbabwe when he scored 24 off 15 balls when he replaced Rinku.
“He contributed for us against Zimbabwe. We got off to the start we wanted in the first three games. Today against Zimbabwe he showed his talent again. That’s what we expect from Sanju to do more consistently.”
One striking aspect of Samson’s innings was the pace. He scored at a strike rate of 194 and appeared composed rather than reckless – a point Gambhir emphasized.
“I actually don’t think he ever accelerated the innings. It was just a very, very normal cricket shot and I never saw anything hitting the ball hard and that’s the talent he had.”
Samson relies heavily on classic ground batting and quick runs between the wickets – traits that are not always associated with his T20 approach.
“When you know you have control of the game and you feel good, you start putting the ball in the net.”
Although often criticized for inconsistency, Gambhir believes this innings could mark a turning point.
“I’ve always said he’s a world-class player, he’s a great talent and hopefully from now on, hopefully we’ll see more innings like Sanju’s. It’s all about backing him. Today is also a day where he might show his true potential. Hopefully this is when he starts, maybe two more games, hopefully,” the coach said optimistically.
