New Delhi [India], March 15 : Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir explained the decision to bring wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson back into the playing XI during the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, saying the move was aimed at adding more firepower to the top order and maintaining an aggressive approach in the early overs.
Speaking on JioHotstar, the Indian head coach dismissed speculation that the change was made to break a sequence of left-handed batters at the top of the order.
According to Gambhir, the team's focus over the past year and a half has been to adopt an attacking mindset from the start.
"I know a lot of people will talk about how we wanted to break the three left-handers at the top, but not at all. We just felt that we wanted to be more explosive because the ideology in the last one and a half years has been to go out there and be as explosive as we can be," Gambhir said.
The head coach added that Samson's inclusion was not related to countering a particular type of bowler but rather to strengthening the batting lineup during the power play.
"The reason to bring in Sanju was not about managing the off-spinner from the other end. I believe that a quality batter will be good against any kind of bowler, whether it's an off-spinner or a left-arm spinner. It was about whether we could get even more firepower at the top and be more aggressive in the first six overs," he said.
Highlighting Samson's batting ability, Gambhir said the wicketkeeper-batter has the potential to change the course of a match within the powerplay if he finds his rhythm.
"We know what Sanju can do; there was never any doubt about his talent and explosiveness. If he gets going, he can win you the game in the first six overs. Imagine having Abhishek, Sanju and Ishan as your top three, and then you have the likes of Surya, Hardik, Tilak, Shivam and Axar to follow," he added.
Gambhir also shared how he informed Samson about his return to the playing XI ahead of the match against the Zimbabwe national cricket team, describing it as a casual interaction during a training session.
"So, you can't ask for anything more. I conveyed it to him in the gym. In fact, we were both training together, and I just told him that you'll be playing against Zimbabwe, and he said, 'Let it come.' That's the kind of casual conversation we have. It's not like a head coach and a player's relationship. It's a relationship where most of our one-on-one conversations happen during practice sessions," Gambhir said.
Samson scripted a comeback for ages during the recently-concluded T20 World Cup as he battled inconsistency and benching to emerge as India's leading run-getter in the tournament, delivering clutch performances when it mattered the most, with a string of half-centuries from the virtual quarterfinal against West Indies to the title clash against New Zealand.
The keeper-batter was also adjudged Player of the Tournament for his consistent performance, where he amassed 321 runs in five innings at an average of 80.25 and a strike rate of 199.37, hitting 27 fours and 24 sixes and ended as the third-highest run-getter in the T20 WC.
The right-handed batter also surpassed Virat Kohli's total of 319 runs in the 2014 T20WC edition to have the most runs by an Indian during a single T20WC edition.