‘Will Remove You from the Team Only If You Scored 21 Ducks,’ Samson Recalls Gambhir’s Words

Wicket-keeper batsman Sanju Samson has lavished credits on India's head coach Gautam Gambhir for his constant encouragement in his T20I career, sharing that Gambhir once said he would be dropped from the side only if he scored 21 ducks.

With Gambhir replacing India's head coach after the T20 World Cup victory and Suryakumar Yadav appointed as captain, Samson was given the opportunity to open the batting. He has since been part of a resilient opening pair with left-hand batsman Abhishek Sharma.

Remembering the time, Samson stated, "So, suddenly, the transition occurred post the T20 World Cup. Gautam bhai was introduced, and Surya arrived as the captain. I was playing a Duleep Trophy match in Andhra. Surya was representing the opposing team."

"Told me, there is a good chance coming your way. We have seven games in hand, and I am going to give you all seven games as an opener." Just hearing that from the skipper was like, 'Oh wow, great," Samson revealed during an interview on former off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin's YouTube channel on Saturday.

Samson also revealed the important discussion with Gambhir when he was out of form: "I played two matches in Sri Lanka but couldn't make runs. I was low in the dressing room, and Gautam bhai approached me and enquired what was wrong."

I told him, 'After so long, I got an opportunity, but couldn't make use of it.' He replied, 'So what? I'll drop you if you score 21 ducks.' That's the expression he used. Such confidence from captain and coach actually pumped up my morale and assisted me to perform," he further added.

So far, Samson has played 42 T20 Internationals for India, scoring 861 runs at an average of 25.32 and strike rate of 152.38. He has three centuries and two fifties in his record, with his first hundred being against Bangladesh in Hyderabad last year, followed by two more against South Africa.

Samson is sure to be in the fray for choice in the Indian team for the Asia Cup to be held in the UAE from September 9 to 28. Looking back at his career, he owned up to the inconsistency in getting a place in the team since making his T20I debut in 2015 as being frustrating but complimented Gambhir and Suryakumar for the improvement that followed.

"I have known this thing, being in and out of the team, for a very long time now. For real, it wasn't easy, and it was surely difficult to cope with those feelings," he added.

"Nearly eight to nine years of my global career have gone by, but I've only played around 15 games. I kept on telling myself, keeping positive that, 'Okay, it will happen. Different people have different journeys. Yours is a different journey,'" Samson summed up.