• Home
  • Player Stories
  • Gambhirs Old Tweet Comes Back To Haunt Amid Sanju Samsons Alleged Asia Cup Snub

Gambhir's Old Tweet Comes Back To Haunt Amid Sanju Samson's Alleged Asia Cup Snub

Akshita Patel

Gautam Gambhir targeted for old tweet on Sanju Samson [Source: @KnightsVibe, @GautamGambhir/X.com]Gautam Gambhir targeted for old tweet on Sanju Samson [Source: @KnightsVibe, @GautamGambhir/X.com]

Sanju Samson, India’s T20I opener, will reportedly be axed for the upcoming Asia Cup 2025, as vice-captain Shubman Gill is the favourite to open alongside Abhishek Sharma. Amid this, head coach Gautam Gambhir’s old tweet praising Samson has resurfaced. 

Samson was promoted as opener in T20Is just shortly after Gambhir took over as head coach in 2024. In that year alone, the batter hit 3 hundreds with 436 runs in 12 innings.

Hence, for the upcoming Asia Cup 2025, Samson is expected to continue opening with Abhishek. However, a twist of fate awaits the Keralite.

Gautam Gambhir Faces Flak Over Old Praise On Sanju Samson

According to reports, with Shubman Gill back in the T20I squad as vice-captain, he will likely take Sanju Samson’s opening spot, thus sidelining the wicket-keeper batter from the setup.

Amid such speculations, head coach Gautam Gambhir’s old tweet has resurfaced. Back in September 2020, when Samson played a blazing knock of 74 off 32 balls for Rajasthan Royals in the IPL, Gambhir had tweeted, “Sanju Samson is not just the best wicketkeeper batsman in India but the best young batsman in India! Anyone up for debate?”

Gautam Gambhir's weet [Source: @GautamGambhir/X.com]Gautam Gambhir's weet [Source: @GautamGambhir/X.com]

Now with Samson likely to be dropped under Gambhir’s watch, fans have accused the coach of being hypocritical and unjust to Sanju Samson.

Throughout his career, Samson has struggled to cement his place in the Indian team due to inconsistent performance. However, now that he is meeting the expectations, the management still has little to no trust in his abilities.

If Not Samson Than Who?

Meanwhile, in a scenario where Sanju Samson does get dropped from the playing XI during the Asia Cup 2025, vice-captain Shubman Gill is likely to open with Abhishek Sharma. As for wicket-keeping duties, Jitesh Sharma, who won the IPL title with RCB this year, will keep the wickets. That being said, all this is conjecture at best for now, as India is yet to reach consensus on their final team balance.