Samson was benched as the Indian team management handed T20I debut cap to Sooryavanshi.
India head coach Gautam Gambhir has admitted that dropping wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson for young prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi during the T20I series against England gave him a sleepless night, calling it the toughest selection call of his coaching tenure so far.
Following India's loss in the first T20I of a five-match series in England, the team management decided to drop Samson, who had previously been a key figure, earning the Player of the Tournament distinction during India's T20 World Cup triumph earlier in the year.
Samson was replaced by 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who made his historic India debut in the second T20I at Old Trafford.
Speaking to JioStar ahead of India’s white-ball series against the West Indies at home, Gambhir revealed the emotional weight behind the decision to bench Samson.
"In two years of my journey, that was the only night I could not sleep, and I told this to Sanju because I knew that it was probably the toughest decision in my coaching tenure in the T20 format. Someone who was the Player of the Tournament, and then you have to leave him out after three or four games. And the reason was probably that Vaibhav was in that kind of form as well, and we had to win the series.
"Because ultimately you are there and, when you are playing for India or coaching India, you want to win each and every series possible. I had a very, very honest conversation with him and told him that was one of the reasons why. Vaibhav was in that kind of form, and we needed someone to score runs at the top. We needed that little bit of a platform at the top as well. And he was fine with it. That's a conversation that Sanju and I had, and he took it in good spirits," Gambhir said.
The tactical shift proved to be temporary. During India's 3-0 T20I series sweep against Afghanistan, the team management reverted to their established opening combination of Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma. Samson vindicated the call by smashing consecutive half-centuries during the series.
Sooryavanshi, who received Player of the Series accolade in the preceding assignment in Zimbabwe, warmed the bench in all three T20Is against Afghanistan.
Addressing the teenager's future, Gambhir sent a clear reality check, noting that while Sooryavanshi possesses immense talent, established performers who have delivered consistently over the last 2-3 years will remain ahead in the pecking order. He emphasized that regardless of whether a player is 15 or 30, they must patiently wait for their opportunity.
"I know it is (tough). But then, I made him understand that I know you're in good form, but sometimes players who have done well for a long time will have to wait for their opportunity.
"There's one more thing: social media or outside noise doesn't decide the playing XI. The playing XI is decided by who, in that dressing room, the coach and captain feel can win us the match, what the best playing XI is, and who has done well for such a long time. Because if Vaibhav plays today, then it's going to be a tough conversation between me and whoever we leave out, whether it's Abhishek or Sanju.
"So we can't suddenly ignore a combination that has created such an impact over the last one and a half to two years, and after three or four failures drop them and play a young player who is very talented and also in very good form.
"So sometimes you will have to wait for your opportunity, and we still want to create that security in the dressing room. Because it is very easy for me to take popular decisions, but it is probably much tougher for me to take the right decisions, and we've taken the right decision by continuing with Sanju and Abhishek," Gambhir remarked.