'I could not sleep': Gautam Gambhir reveals 'toughest decision' to pick Vaibhav Sooryavanshi over Sanju Samson

India head coach Gautam Gambhir has opened up about the emotional challenge of leaving Sanju Samson out of the playing XI during the T20I series in England, revealing that the decision kept him awake at night. Samson, who was named Player of the Tournament during India’s T20 World Cup triumph earlier this year, was dropped after the opening match of the five-game series in England in July. India lost the first T20I, after which teenager Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was handed his international debut in Manchester.

Gambhir admitted that the decision was particularly difficult because of Samson’s contribution to India’s World Cup-winning campaign. Speaking to JioStar ahead of India’s home season against the West Indies, he explained the thinking behind the selection call.

“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 a T20 format because someone who was player of the tournament, and then you have to leave him out after three or four games."

And the reason was probably 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 when you are coaching India, you want to win each and every series possible. I had a very, very honest conversation with him and I told him that that is one of the reasons why, because 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. And that’s a conversation which me and Sanju had, and he took it in good spirits,” said Gambhir.

The decision was later reversed when India returned home for their three-match T20I series against Afghanistan. Samson replaced Sooryavanshi and responded with back-to-back fifties as India completed a 3-0 series sweep.

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Gambhir also explained why strong recent form does not always guarantee a player a place in India’s playing XI.

“I know, it is (tough). But then, I made him understand that I know you’re in good form, but sometimes with the players who have done well for a long time, you will have to wait for your opportunity."

“There’s one more thing - social media or outside noise doesn’t decide the playing eleven. Playing eleven who, in that dressing room, or who the coach and captain feel can win us the match, or what is the best playing eleven, and who have 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." he added.

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Sooryavanshi’s emergence has added another challenge to India’s T20I selection plans. Although the teenager impressed on his international debut in Manchester, Gambhir stressed that India’s established combination cannot be changed simply because a young player is in good form.

The India coach said continuity remains important given the team’s recent success. He also pointed to India’s quick turnaround between World Cup victories while urging the team not to overreact to a few poor performances.

“For two years, imagine, you imagine we won the World Cup - which team in the history of sport has gone undefeated from one World Cup to the other and gone on to win the World Cup?

“It didn’t take these guys 17 years to win the second World Cup. It took these guys only 17 months to win the third World Cup. Suddenly one bad series or three bad games here and there does not make them a bad player or does not make us a bad side. So it was very important for us to have that continuity," he concluded.