The allegations of nepotism repeatedly raised against Gautam Gambhir and Ajit Agarkar regarding team selection have somewhat diminished. They have dropped Shubman Gill from the 2026 T20 World Cup squad. The message has also been sent that players not in form will not be retained in the team. On the other hand, Sanju Samson, who was repeatedly dropped from the national team, has been given an opportunity. And during this team selection period, an old tweet by Gautam Gambhir has surfaced publicly, where he had earlier revealed his plans regarding Sanju Samson.
What did Gautam Gambhir post?
On March 29, 2019, Gautam Gambhir wrote on his X handle, "I normally don't like to talk about individuals in cricket. But seeing his skills, I am glad to say that Sanju Samson is currently India's best wicketkeeper batsman. In my opinion, he should be sent to bat at number four in the World Cup."
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When Shubman Gill plays T20 cricket, Sanju Samson has to give up his opener position. In the past, it has been seen that in matches where Gill played, Sanju Samson was pushed down to three-four or even lower positions. Even when team combination was cited as the reason, it was clear to everyone that this was done to accommodate Gill. On the other hand, even when Gill got his preferred position, he couldn't score runs. While other players get dropped after playing poorly in one or two matches, Gill continued to play consistently. However, before becoming Team India's coach, Gautam Gambhir was opposed to this practice. This is clear from his post. But after becoming coach, he continued to play Gill for some reason.
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This time Gambhir acted according to his principles, and when Sanju Samson got the opening spot, Gill was dropped. Not only was he dropped, but he also lost the vice-captaincy position in T20 cricket.
