India national cricket team head coach Gautam Gambhir made a bold claim after Sanju Samson took the defending champions to the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup 2026 on Sunday, March 1.
Samson’s unbeaten inning of 97 runs helped India defeat West Indies by five wickets in the final Super 8 match at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Sunday. This win sealed the final semi-final spot for India.
Gautam Gambhir makes bold claim on Sanju Samson’s heroics against West Indies
After India’s thrilling win, largely thanks to Samson, Gautam Gambhir has credited the Indian cricket team management for the right-handed batsman’s historic innings under pressure against West Indies at the Eden Gardens.
Also read: Sourav Ganguly praises Sanju Samson’s heroics against West Indies and targets Shubman Gill
The head coach said that the team always trusted Samson and now he has repaid the faith with his match-winning efforts in the big match. However, Gambhir praised Samson as a world-class player. He further said that it was important to support the wicketkeeper.
“He’s a world-class player; we all know what a good player Sanju is. It was all about supporting him. When the team needed him the most – obviously today was the day – he showed his full potential,” Gautam Gambhir said in the post-match press conference, as quoted by ESPN Cricinfo.
Gautam Gambhir praised Samson’s calm batting under pressure
Praising the way the Kerala batsman batted against West Indies, the Indian head coach mentioned that Samson did not play wild shots, used clean cricket strokes and maintained control while chasing the target.
He further added, “I actually felt that he never accelerated the innings. It was just normal cricketing shots and I never even saw him crush the ball. That’s the kind of talent he has.”
Gautam Gambhir also talked about the tough T20 series against New Zealand on home soil, where Samson scored only 46 runs in five innings at a poor average of 9.20, with the highest score being 24.
Why was Samson given a break?
It was a disappointing series for the wicketkeeper-batsman, so the team management gave him a short break during the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026 to refresh his mind for the important games.
Also read: “Don’t be sad…”: Rohit Sharma’s words are like gold for Sanju Samson amid T20 World Cup 2026
However, the former World Cup winner has stressed that the team management always knew that Samson would line up for India in the most important game, and he did it in style.
Gambhir said, “Obviously he had a tough series against New Zealand, so sometimes it is important to give him a break, because you want to take that player out of that pressure situation as well. And we always knew that whenever we needed him in a World Cup game, he would come and do the job for us.”
I don’t believe in statistics: Gautam Gambhir
After India bounced back with two strong wins after losing to South Africa in the Super 8 round, the coach also made it clear that he does not believe in the idea of ​​peaking at the right time. He stressed that every match is important and players should give their best in every game.
Gambhir also shared his simple perspective. He signed off by saying, “To be honest, I don’t believe in data. I’ve never seen data. I don’t even know what data is. I don’t believe in it at all. Because I think it’s more about instinct. I think T20 cricket is about instinct and also supporting your instinct.”
