'Conversation is not going to come outside': Gautam Gambhir claims he has given clarity to Sanju Samson after India's 125-run loss to England

India head coach Gautam Gambhir has finally addressed the elephant in the room. Gambhir has cited Sanju Samson's lack of form for his ouster from the playing eleven. After India's heaviest defeat by runs in T20I cricket, the 125-run loss to England at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, Gambhir revealed that he has given Samson clarity on why he has been benched. He acknowledged how Samson delivered for India in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026. He kept the door ajar for Samson's return to playing eleven in the ongoing five-T20I series where India are trailing 2-0.

"The first thing is that regarding the clarity Sanju Samson needed, he has been given that from my side. That's a conversation strictly between the player and the head coach. That conversation is not going to come outside," Gambhir said.

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"Regarding Sanju, we are very clear what he has done for India at the T20 World Cup has been phenomenal and sometimes you just have to look at the form of a certain player. There is no hard and fast rule that he cannot make a comeback in this series," he added.

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Sooryavanshi yet to justify replacing Samson

Samson scored just six runs from three T20Is on the UK tour. He was replaced by a young Vaibhav Sooryavanshi who has not been able to convert starts into big scores. After a 14-run knock, he hit two sixes in his 5-ball 13 in third T20I. He was dismissed by Jofra Archer.

Gambhir also pointed out that international cricket is result-oriented and the team will be picked as per the requirement. He said that every player needs to earn his place in the side. Meanwhile, Samson is not a part of the T20I squad for Zimbabwe tour. There is no official word on whether he has been dropped or rested for the tour. However, reports claim that he has been rested for the series to give Sooryavanshi more opportunities.

India bowled out for 76 as Tongue, Archer wreak havoc

But, a lot of questions will be raised after India were bowled out for 76 in 11.4 overs in the run chase of 202. No batter could cross the 13-run mark as Archer took three wickets and Josh Tongue claimed a four-fer in his second T20I appearance.

This is India's fourth defeat since Shreyas Iyer took over T20I captaincy from T20 World Cup 2026-winning captain Suryakumar Yadav. India will look to level the series. The fourth T20I is scheduled to be played on July 9 at County Ground, Bristol.