Gautam Gambhir’s answer to Sanju Samson question during the press conference wins over everyone

India head coach Gautam Gambhir may be preparing to help the Rohit Sharma-led Indian team in Australia but he also has an eye on what is happening in South Africa where the Suryakumar Yadav-led Indian team is engaged in a 3-match T20I -series. Speaking to the media ahead of his flight to Australia, Gambhir came across a rather unrelated question when the topic of Sanju Samson’s performances in South Africa came up. Although Gambhir is also the head coach of India’s T20I team, VVS Laxman has been given the charge of the boys in the Rainbow Nation at the moment.

When a reporter credited Gambhir for Samson’s performance, the head coach refused to take credit.

“Not at all; I think it’s nothing to do with me. I think it’s his ability. It was about giving him the right number and supporting him. I think at the end of the day it’s his hard work. What he is doing for Indian cricket is just the beginning, it is not the end. Hopefully he can continue to take this form forward,” Gambhir said at the press conference.

“For me, I think the good sign is that some of the young players are really coming through, which is always healthy and good for Indian cricket,” he added.

Samson scored a century in the first match of the series and became the first Indian in history to register two consecutive tons in the shortest format of international cricket. However, he could not follow it up in the second T20I and suffered a duck.

Gambhir is now focused on the next task at hand which is the 5-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy, a solid show that would also help India’s World Test Championship finals hopes.

“We have a lot of experienced players who have been to Australia many times. Their experience will also be useful for the young players. These 10 days will be very crucial but on the morning of the 22nd we should be fully prepared and ready to fire ball one,” he said.