Gautam Gambhir Backs Sanju Samson Over Vaibhav Sooryavanshi

Gautam Gambhir has drawn a firm line in the sand.

For now, the door to India’s top order is bolted for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, and the lock is being held by Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma.

Gambhir backs incumbents, asks Sooryavanshi to wait

Speaking after India’s latest outing, the head coach was blunt about the pecking order. Sooryavanshi, fresh off a standout tour of Zimbabwe, will have to bide his time.

“From Vaibhav's point of view, it is again a very clear conversation that he has to wait for his opportunity. We know the kind of talent he has. We know what he can do. But again, someone who has done extremely well over a period of years obviously will always be ahead of someone who has just got into the team. Whenever he gets that chance, you will get a longer run as well,” Gambhir told reporters.

That is the crux of the call. Track record over flash. Body of work over one hot series.

Sooryavanshi did everything that could reasonably be asked of him in Zimbabwe. Promoted to open alongside Abhishek Sharma, he peeled off 151 runs in the series and walked away with the Player of the Series award. For many, that kind of return usually slams a door open.

Instead, when Afghanistan arrived, it closed. Samson returned to the XI, Sooryavanshi returned to the bench.

Gambhir framed it not as a snub, but as a reality of elite cricket.

“And that is what Indian cricket is all about. We want competition, we want that talent in the dressing room. But sometimes that's how cricket goes. Whether it is a 15-year-old or a 30-year-old, you have to wait for opportunity,” he said.

A revolving door in the UK, and a brutal call

The current debate has its roots in the UK tour, where both Samson and Sooryavanshi were shuffled in and out under intense scrutiny.

Samson started that trip, but three low scores – one against England and two against Ireland – cost him his place. The reaction was swift. He was dropped from the XI, and Sooryavanshi was handed a debut and a three-match run.

The script repeated itself. Three failures, three games, and another player out of the side.

By the time India went to Zimbabwe, Samson had been rested entirely, leaving Sooryavanshi to seize his chance at the top. He did. Yet when the Afghanistan series rolled around, the hierarchy reasserted itself. Samson walked back into the side, Sooryavanshi walked out.

The numbers alone don’t tell the full story. For Gambhir, Samson’s wider body of work – and his World Cup pedigree – carry weight.

‘Toughest decision’ of Gambhir’s coaching career

Gambhir did not hide from the fact that dropping Samson in England cut deep.

"I think Samson showed what he is capable of. Someone doesn't become Player Of The Tournament in the World Cup without having talent, so he has done enough. Obviously, it was tough – probably the toughest decision I have taken in my coaching career, was leaving him out of that England series because of the way he had performed before that," he said.

Samson’s response since then has only strengthened his case. Against Afghanistan, he produced two half-centuries, reminding everyone why he had been central to India’s white-ball plans.

For Gambhir, that was enough to reset the combination back to the World Cup template.

“But again, sometimes you go with the players' form as well. From my point of view, I wanted to go back to the combination we had during the World Cup, because those guys, after three or four failures, don't become bad players. If a team has gone from one World Cup to another one unbeaten and has won the World Cup. Suddenly, it has become a team after one series, and these guys have not become bad players,” he explained.

That is the message to the dressing room: one bad tour does not erase a champion cycle. Equally, one breakout series does not automatically dethrone an established core.

Sooryavanshi, then, waits. Samson and Abhishek hold the crease. And in a setup where World Cup winners are being backed to ride out lean patches, the next opportunity for the new kid might say even more about how ruthless – or patient – this new India under Gambhir really intends to be.