"Serious Blunders": Sanjay Manjrekar Slams Gautam Gambhir Despite T20 World Cup Win

Former India cricketer and reputed commentator Sanjay Manjrekar has stated that the Indian team management, led by captain Suryakumar Yadav and head coach Gautam Gambhir, made "serious blunders" regarding their utilisation of star wicket-keeper batter Sanju Samson. Samson emerged as the 'Player of the Tournament' as India won the T20 World Cup 2026, slamming knocks of 97*, 89 and 89 in India's final three games, having earlier been dropped from the playing XI. Manjrekar pointed this out to explain his statement.

"With Sanju Samson, I think there were serious blunders committed," Manjrekar stated in an Instagram video.

Manjrekar criticised the Indian team management's decision to initially take away Samson's slot as an opener in favour of Shubman Gill.

"Sanju Samson seemed to have come of age and recently got three T20I hundreds in five innings against teams like South Africa. He was actually dropped down the order a few matches later, just after four or five innings, because Shubman Gill in England had a tremendous Test series," Manjrekar pointed out.

"It just warped logic that because Shubman Gill played so well in Test cricket, he was reinstated, he was recalled to the Indian T20 team, and what's worse, Sanju Samson, who was at the top of the order, was pushed down the order to make way for Shubman Gill," he added.

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Manjrekar also said that these decisions had an impact on Samson's rhythm, which ultimately led to his poor form and eventual exclusion from the playing XI just ahead of the T20 World Cup.

"Sanju Samson lost a bit of rhythm in the Asia Cup. He was batting down the order and became dispensable and eventually lost his place in the playing XI," Manjrekar said.

"Now, this is where fate comes in. Rinku Singh's absence in one of the games got Sanju Samson to come back in. Tilak Varma, who was struggling at No. 3, was pushed down the order and that is why Ishan Kishan was batting at No. 3. He could bat at No. 3, and Sanju Samson got the spot at the top of the order, which should've been his right through.

"As they say, the rest is history," Manjrekar concluded.

Samson played only five games at the T20 World Cup 2026, but his three stunning performances to cap off the tournament saw him finish as the third-highest run-getter with 321, at a superb strike-rate of 199.37.

Topics mentioned in this article

Sanju Samson Gautam Gambhir Suryakumar Yadav Sanjay Manjrekar India Cricket Team T20 World Cup 2026 Cricket