Do you remember the promise Gautam Gambhir made to Sanju Samson?
“I’ll drop you if you register 21 ducks.”
It was a line that went viral, mocked by critics and used repeatedly to question Gambhir’s intent once he became India’s head coach. But instead of debating emotions and opinions, let’s look at the one thing that doesn’t lie - numbers.
Sanju Samson made his T20I debut on 19 July 2015, but opportunities were scarce for nearly a decade. Under Ravi Shastri, Samson played just 5 T20Is in 4 years - a startlingly low count for a player consistently delivering in the IPL.
Things improved under Rahul Dravid, with Samson featuring in 17 matches across 3.5 years. Yet even then, trust remained incomplete. Despite being in the setup, Samson was benched ahead of the T20 World Cup, once again left on the sidelines when it mattered most.
Now comes the Gautam Gambhir era, and this is where the narrative collapses. Gambhir has been India’s head coach for just 1 year and 3 months, and in that short span, Sanju Samson has already played 22 T20Is. That’s more matches than he got under any previous coach in a fraction of the time.
The trend continues when you look at captains. Under Virat Kohli, Samson got 5 opportunities. Under Rohit Sharma, he featured in 6 matches. But since Suryakumar Yadav took over as captain, Samson has played 23 matches - the most he has ever had under any leadership group.
Yes, there was a phase when Samson was dropped or pushed down the order as Gambhir experimented with Shubman Gill at the top in T20Is. That decision drew criticism. But even after those tactical calls, no coach has backed Samson more consistently than Gambhir. And now he is also part of India's squad for the 2026 T20 World Cup.
The conclusion is unavoidable. You may like or dislike Gautam Gambhir as India’s head coach. You may disagree with his methods or his blunt communication style. But if the accusation is that he didn’t stand by his word with Sanju Samson, the facts say otherwise.
Gautam Gambhir didn’t just make a promise. He kept it. And for Sanju Samson, the numbers finally reflect something fans have been asking for years: trust backed by opportunity.
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