Sanju Samson with Gautam Gambhir | Source- AFP
A musical chair is happening in the Indian T20I set-up. As a strong wave named Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is going around in the circuit, the Player of the T20 World Cup 2026, Sanju Samson, has to warm the bench to accomodade the generational talent.
The 31-year-old wicketkeeper was just given chances after his historic run in the 2026 T20 World Cup, before he was dropped from the Indian side during the ongoing England series.
As a result, the Shreyas Iyer and co. got the chance to hand over the youngest cap to Vaibhav Sooryavanshi at Old Trafford. In his maiden outing, the 15-year-old could only score 14 runs, but he smashed two brilliant maximums, one of them was a scoop over fine leg off Jofra Archer.
Sanju Samson offered to sit out for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's debut
As soon as India had a debut cap for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, a video of Sanju Samson having an animated chat with head coach Gautam Gambhir went viral.
Initially, it was interpreted as a consoling gesture by the coach, but then theories began to circulate suggesting that Samson wasn’t happy with Gambhir and team management’s decision.
However, if reports are to be believed, a whole new tangent is added to the story. According to Cricbuzz, it was Samson who asked the team management to sit out after having a string of low scores on the UK tour.
Also Read: Sanju Samson Not Dropped? Reports Suggest Gautam Gambhir Has A Planned Future
Notably, he was dismissed for 5 runs and a duck in Ireland before registering a seven-ball 1 in his solitary outing in England.
Sanju Samson not in T20I squad for Zimbabwe series
Adding more spice, Sanju Samson was an absentee from India's latest selection for the Zimbabwe series. In place of the Kerala batter, Punjab's Prabhsimran Singh has been called up as a back-up keeper-cum-opener.
Apart from Samson, regulars like Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Washington Sundar and Ravi Bishnoi have also been left out. However, skipper Shreyas Iyer and his deputy Tilak Varma have been reinstated, while Abhishek Sharma and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi are to open there.
Rinku Singh and Mayank Yadav have been recalled for the three-match T20I series.
Nevertheless, India are scheduled to play three matches on their tour of Zimbabwe from July 23-26.
India's squad for Zimbabwe T20Is
Shreyas Iyer (Captain), Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma (Vice-Captain), Ishan Kishan (WK), Shivam Dube, Suryansh Shedge, Rinku Singh, Harsh Dubey, Varun Chakaravarathy, Prince Yadav, Yash Thakur, Ashok Sharma, Mayank Yadav, Prabhsimran Singh (WK).
Is all well in Indian cricket?
It is worth noting that Sanju Samson was said to be on Gautam Gambhir's radar as the successor to Suryakumar Yadav, along with Ishan Kishan. However, the BCCI had to intervene after the selectors handpicked Shreyas Iyer. Eventually, Ajit Agarkar and co. had their say.
With so much happening in the Indian set-up, one can expect a lot of drama to unfold regarding Gambhir vs Agarkar.
Also Read: 1st Time In History! Shreyas Iyer Scripts A Unique Feat As India Captain In 3rd T20I vs ENG
