Gautam Gambhir breaks silence on Sanju Samson's snub from Zimbabwe tour

India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir has broken his silence on Sanju Samson’s absence from the squad for the upcoming Zimbabwe T20I series. Samson wasn’t picked in the team after a string of low scores against Ireland and England, a decision that left many baffled.

Samson was adjudged Player of the Tournament in India’s T20 World Cup 2026 triumph at home but has only scored six runs in his last three innings, including a duck against Ireland in Belfast. However, Gambhir has revealed that the opening batter has been given clarity about his snub.

"The clarity that should have been given to Sanju Samson, he has got from me. And that conversation is between a head coach and a player. That contents of the conversation we will obviously not tell you about,” Gambhir said after the third T20I at Trent Bridge.

Samson was further benched for the second T20I against England to make way for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, but Gambhir didn’t rule out chances of his comeback in the ongoing series.

"As far as clarity goes, we are absolutely clear that Sanju… what he had done for India during the World Cup has been phenomenal, and sometimes you just have to look at the form as well of a certain player. And there is no hard and fast rule that he cannot make a comeback in this series,” he added.

India trailing 0-2 against England

The India head coach further stressed that everyone needs to earn their place in the team irrespective of their stature.

"And more importantly, ultimately international cricket is about results. Whatever we feel is the best combination to give us the results, we play that combination, we play that playing XI. That is what I've always been a big believer of: that everyone needs to earn their place. Everyone needs to earn the right to play for India,” said Gambhir.

Meanwhile, India are trailing 0-2 against England following a humiliating 125-run defeat in the third T20I. Chasing a target of 202 runs, India were skittled for just 76 runs, their second-lowest total in T20Is. With just two more matches remaining in the series, it remains to be seen if the team management will bring back Samson into the playing XI as India stare at another series defeat.