‘He showed his true potential’: Gautam Gambhir lauds Samson’s unbeaten 97 against West Indies

India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir strongly praised Sanju Samson after his unbeaten 97 helped India reach the semifinals of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026. Gambhir said the innings showed the “real potential” that the team always believed Samson had. He scored a brilliant 97 not out at the Eden Gardens, leading India to a five-wicket win over West Indies in an important Super Eight match. The victory kept India’s hopes alive of defending their T20 World Cup title at home.

After the match, Gambhir said everyone in the team knows Samson is a world-class player. He explained that the team continued to support him and when India needed him most, he delivered. Gambhir added that he hopes this innings is just the beginning, with two more matches left in the tournament.

“Sanju is a world-class player, we all know how good a player he is. And it was all about backing him. And then when the team needed him the most, obviously today was a day where he probably showed his true potential, and hopefully, this is a time for him to kick off and probably two more games to go,” Gambhir told reporters after the match.

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Gambhir further said that he was impressed with how simple and controlled Samson’s batting was and noted that Samson did not try to hit the ball too hard but played proper cricket shots. According to him, this shows Samson’s natural talent. He added that Samson had been batting well in practice and it was about showing that skill in the match.

“Look, I actually thought that he never accelerated the innings. It was just a very, very normal cricketing shot, and I never saw any muscling the ball as well, and that is the kind of talent he has. When you know that you're in control of the game and you know that you're feeling good, he's hitting the ball really well in the nets and it's about going in the middle and showcasing that skill that you had,” said Gambhir.

Gambhir once again said he has always believed in Samson’s talent and hopes he continues to play more such match-winning innings. He also dismissed criticism about Samson’s past scores, saying that coming back into the team and playing such an important knock would give him great confidence.