Gautam Gambhir Reveals His ‘Sleepless Night’, The Reason Involved Vaibhav Sooryavanshi

Gautam Gambhir has revealed that dropping Sanju Samson from India’s T20I side during the England series was the toughest selection call of his coaching tenure, admitting that the decision left him unable to sleep.

Samson had been named Player of the Tournament during India’s T20 World Cup triumph before losing his place after the opening T20I of the five-match England series in July. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi replaced him and made his T20I debut in Manchester.

Samson returned to India’s playing XI for the subsequent three-match T20I series against Afghanistan, with the wicketkeeper-batter responding by scoring consecutive half-centuries as India completed a 3-0 series sweep.

Gambhir Reveals Sleepless Night Over Vaibhav Sooryvanshi Decision

Speaking to JioStar ahead of India’s home season, Gambhir opened up on the thinking behind the decision to leave Samson out despite his World Cup success.

The India head coach revealed that the call affected him more than any other selection decision during his time in charge.

“In two years of my journey, that was the only night I could not sleep, and I told this to Sanju because I knew that it was probably the toughest decision in my coaching tenure in the T20 format,” Gambhir said.

The former India batter explained that the situation was particularly difficult because Samson had just been recognised as the Player of the Tournament during India’s World Cup-winning campaign.

“Someone who was the Player of the Tournament, and then you have to leave him out after three or four games,” Gambhir added.

Gambhir said Sooryavanshi’s form was one of the reasons behind the decision, while India also wanted more runs at the top of the order as they attempted to win the series.

“And the reason was probably that Vaibhav was in that kind of form as well, and we had to win the series,” he said.

The coach added that he had a direct conversation with Samson before making the decision and explained why the team had opted for a different combination.

“I had a very, very honest conversation with him and told him that was one of the reasons why. Vaibhav was in that kind of form, and we needed someone to score runs at the top. We needed that little bit of a platform at the top as well. And he was fine with it,” Gambhir said.

Gambhir Explains Why Sooryavanshi Had To Wait

Sooryavanshi’s impressive form also created another selection dilemma once Samson returned to the side.

The teenage batter had been given an opportunity in England, but Gambhir made it clear that strong performances do not automatically guarantee a place in India’s playing XI.

“I know it is tough. But then, I made him understand that I know you’re in good form, but sometimes players who have done well for a long time will have to wait for their opportunity,” Gambhir explained.

Gambhir also rejected the idea that social media pressure or public demand should influence team selection.

“Social media or outside noise doesn’t decide the playing XI. The playing XI is decided by who, in that dressing room, the coach and captain feel can win us the match, what the best playing XI is, and who has done well for such a long time,” he said.

The coach pointed towards the established combination of Samson and Abhishek Sharma, which India had backed over an extended period.

“We can’t suddenly ignore a combination that has created such an impact over the last one and a half to two years, and after three or four failures drop them and play a young player who is very talented and also in very good form,” Gambhir said.

He added that making the popular decision would often be easier, but the team’s responsibility was to make what the management believed was the correct call.

“So sometimes you will have to wait for your opportunity, and we still want to create that security in the dressing room. Because it is very easy for me to take popular decisions, but it is probably much tougher for me to take the right decisions,” Gambhir said.

Gambhir Praises Shreyas Iyer’s Leadership

Gambhir also spoke about T20I captain Shreyas Iyer and highlighted the quality that impressed him most during their time together at Kolkata Knight Riders.

The coach recalled Iyer’s willingness to sacrifice his own position in the batting order when the team’s requirements demanded it.

“The first and foremost quality of a good leader, and I’m not going to talk about captaincy, is how selfless you are. Shreyas has that quality,” Gambhir said.

He explained that Iyer was willing to allow another batter to move ahead of him to create a left-right combination or maximise another player’s impact.

Gambhir believes that selflessness separates a leader from a player who may otherwise possess all the required technical qualities.

“Because you can be hardworking, you can be disciplined, you can be fit, you can be the No. 1 batter. But if you are not selfless, then all those other things count for nothing,” he added.

Gambhir Wants Continuity Despite Setbacks

Gambhir also defended India’s decision to maintain faith in an established group rather than react to every short-term dip in results.

He pointed to India’s success across the previous two years and argued that a few failures should not immediately change the team’s approach.

“Suddenly, one bad series or three bad games here and there do not make them bad players or make us a bad side. So it was very important for us to have that continuity,” Gambhir said.

His comments underline the balance India are trying to maintain between rewarding current form and preserving combinations that have already delivered major results.

For Sooryavanshi, that means waiting for another opportunity. For Samson, it means the faith shown in him after his difficult England stint has already been rewarded with a return to form.

Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: abplive.com