'My job is not to make everyone happy': Gambhir opens up on India's team selection

India head coach Gautam Gambhir has responded to criticism over the lack of rotation in the team, which has left young batter Vaibhav Sooryavanshi on the bench, even in matches with no impact on the series result. Gambhir said his job was not to ‘make everyone happy’ by taking decisions that would please people on social media. He added that players who have performed ‘phenomenally well’ over a long period deserve more opportunities.

Sooryavanshi has attracted a lot of attention following his record-breaking IPL 2026 season, a feat that no current member of the Indian team has achieved. However, he has found it difficult to secure a regular place in the side.

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He has featured in three T20Is in England when Sanju Samson was dropped due to poor form, three matches in Zimbabwe when Samson was rested and a few games at the Asian Games under head coach VVS Laxman, who had a different team combination.

“First of all my job is not to make everyone happy,” Gambhir told Sky Sports when asked about managing a talented squad.

“My job is to take the right decisions, not the popular decisions. And that is what I’m there for. I think sometimes, in today’s day and age, with so much social media and all that chatter, what happens on the outside, it is very easy to take the popular decision. But for me, I think the important thing is to take the right decision and make sure that there is a lot of security inside the dressing room. Because, as you just mentioned, there’s a lot of talent. But again, I think guys have done phenomenally well over a longer period of time. Obviously, it deserves a longer rope,” he said.

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Sooryavanshi got another opportunity in two T20Is against New Zealand when Ishan Kishan was injured, however, he was dropped for the fourth match after Kishan returned to the side. The decision raised questions as India had already secured the series with a 3-0 lead, making the match a dead rubber.

Gambhir, however, made it clear that he does not believe in the concept of dead rubbers.

“When you’re playing for your country, there is no complacency,” Gambhir said. “It’s an international game. Everyone knows how very few privileged people get the opportunity to represent the country. For me, I think every game is an opportunity to do something different, to learn something, to evolve. And that is exactly how we approach the game. I think there are no dead rubbers in my philosophy, in my ideology, and the same is in the dressing room as well.”