Gautam Gambhir Consoles Sanju Samson As Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Takes His Spot

Gautam Gambhir consoles Sanju Samson. [Source- Screengrab]

Life seems hard to be if you are Sanju Samson. Three T20I matches ago, the wicketkeeper had won India their third T20I World Cup title as the Player of the Tournament, but a couple of underwhelming performances have seen him lose his position. 

As India handed an India debut to the 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Samson has been asked to warm the bench against England at Manchester on Saturday evening. After the news broke, Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir was seen consoling the 31-year-old batter. 

Gautam Gambhir comforts Sanju Samson after dropping him

A viral video is surfacing on the internet, showing the head coach, Gautam Gambhir, speaking with Sanju Samson after Tilak Varma handed Vaibhav Sooryavanshi the 122nd T20I cap for India. 

Also Read: Watch - Debutant Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Gets Emotional After Getting His India Cap

The head coach had put his hand across the CSK batter’s shoulder after the team management dropped him after three failures against Ireland and then in the 1st T20I vs England. 

As Samson could only register three single-digit scores in his three outings for India after the 2026 T20 World Cup triumph, he lost his place to Sooryavanshi, who has become the youngest-ever debutant for India. 

Watch: Gautam Gambhir shares a moment with Sanju Samson

Pitch Perfect

@_pitch__perfect

Good to see Gautam Gambhir having a chat with Sanju Samson. That's always one thing you need from the management.

Jul 4, 2026, 6:42 PM

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's IPL heroics pave way for India call-up

Sanju Samson was the main man for Chennai in the IPL 2026, smacking two hundreds and ending the season with 477 runs in 14 innings at a strike rate close to 165. On the flip side, the teenager Vaibhav Sooryavanshi broke all possible records that season. 

The 15-year-old sensation mustered the bowlers, scoring 776 runs in 16 innings at a whopping strike rate of 237.31. He single-handedly took the Rajasthan Royals to Qualifier 2, which led to his selection in India and India A squads.

Since his IPL wonders, Sooryavanshi has been pushing for a place in the Indian setup, which he finally got at the cost of his first IPL skipper, Samson. 

Notably, the CSK keeper was allegedly on Gambhir’s radar to be Suryakumar Yadav’s successor. However, the selectors had the final say, with Shreyas Iyer picked as the next T20I captain. 

Abhishek Sharma fires, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi shows glimpses of his talent

Talking more about the grand Vaibhav Sooryavanshi debut, the southpaw was dismissed for just 14 runs at Manchester. However, during his 10-ball stay, he showed the world his unreal prowess, tonking Jofra Archer and Josh Tongue for a maximum apiece. 

Sooryavanshi’s partner, Abhishek Sharma, continued his form as he returned with a 24-ball 43 before Sam Curran again ended his stay, although he missed his second half-century of the IND vs ENG T20I series. 

At the halfway mark of the innings, India are at 96/2, with Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan looking settled to blast. 

Also Read: Deja Vu For Sanju Samson As Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's Debut Brings Back Painful IPL Memory