'So what? I'll drop you...': Gautam Gambhir's '21 ducks' chat stumped Sanju Samson moments after he was 'feeling down'

Sanju Samson is a bona fide talent. Hence, it left everyone surprised when the right-handed batter failed to string consistent performances and make himself a regular member of India's white-ball squads. It took the arrival of Gautam Gambhir as the head coach for Sanju Samson to get a fair run in the T20I side. With Gambhir becoming the coach and Suryakumar Yadav taking over as the captain, Samson got the chance to open the batting in the shortest format alongside Abhishek Sharma. Sanju Samson reveals how Gautam Gambhir and Suryakumar Yadav gave him confidence(PTI)

This move did not pay off immediately in the series against Sri Lanka. However, the wicketkeeper-batter came in his own in the subsequent contests against Bangladesh and South Africa, smashing three centuries.

In a candid chat with Ravichandran Ashwin on the latter's YouTube channel, Samson opened up about feeling low after registering poor scores against Sri Lanka. He then further spoke about Gautam Gambhir instilling belief in him and how it led to getting the best out of him.

Samson, currently the captain of the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League (IPL), also revealed his chat with Suryakumar Yadav about his inclusion in the T20I squad.

“So, suddenly, the change happened after the T20 World Cup. So Gautam bhai came in, and Surya came in as the captain. I was playing a Duleep Trophy game in Andhra. Surya was playing for the other team. He told me, ‘There is a good opportunity coming up for you. We have seven games lined up, and I am going to give you all seven games as an opener’,” said Samson.

“The words coming out from the captain's mouth itself actually felt, Oh wow, great. I played two games in Sri Lanka but was unable to score runs. I was a bit down in the dressing room, and Gautam bhai came up to me and asked what had happened,” he added.

It was then that Gambhir's words shocked and surprised Samson. The India head coach told him that the right-handed batter would get a fair chance and would only be dropped if he registered 21 ducks.

Also Read: Samson's Rajasthan Royals exit linked to Vaibhav Suryavanshi's meteoric rise: 'If Sanju is thinking like that...'

“I said, 'After a long time, I got a chance, but I failed to capitalise'. He said, 'So what? I'll drop you if you register 21 ducks'. That's the word which he used,” said Samson.

“That kind of confidence from the captain and the coach has definitely raised my confidence. That really helped me to go out there and perform,” he added.

Samson's record in T20Is

Samson has played 42 T20Is for India so far, scoring 861 runs at an average of 25.32 and a strike rate of 152.38. He has three centuries and two fifties to his name in international T20Is. His maiden T20I century against Bangladesh in Hyderabad, and he then smashed two more tons against South Africa.

Speaking to Ashwin, Sanju Samson was candid enough to accept that being in and out of the team did leave him a bit frustrated, but it all changed post the arrival of Gambhir and Suryakumar Yadav.

“I know this thing, being on and off from the team and all those things were happening for a very long period of time, so honestly, I feel like it was not easy, and I think it was definitely not easy to have those kinds of feelings,” said Samson.

‘Like I almost completed eight to nine years of my international career, but I only played 15 games or something. I always tried to keep myself in a very positive frame of mind. I always kept on telling myself, ’Okay, it will happen, but different people have different journeys. Yours is a different journey'," he added.

Sanju Samson failed to get going in India's last T20I series against England. He found it tough against the short-ball barrage dished out by the pacers. Now, it needs to be seen whether he retains his place in the playing XI as Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal are expected to make the squad for the upcoming Men's Asia Cup.

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