Ravichandran Ashwin has issued a sharp warning after Sanju Samson was dropped from India’s playing XI for the second T20I against England, saying the decision creates a culture where every player in the squad starts to feel unsafe.
“This is not good for the team. If Sanju is dropped today and Surya is dropped tomorrow, every player will start thinking, ‘I’m next.’ That’s not a healthy environment for any team.”
Ravichandran Ashwin, YouTube channel, July 5, 2026
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Ashwin is not a television pundit making an argument. He was inside India’s dressing room until December 2024. He understands what a decision like this signals, and he speaks from personal experience.
Samson was dropped for the second T20I at Old Trafford after scores of 5 and 0 in the Ireland T20I series and 1 off 7 balls in the series opener against England. Fifteen-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi replaced him and became the youngest cricketer ever to represent India, breaking the record held by Sachin Tendulkar. India lost the match by four wickets and trail 0-1 in the five-match series.
Three T20Is ago, Sanju Samson was named Player of the Tournament at the T20 World Cup 2026. He scored 321 runs in five innings at an average of 80.25 and a strike rate of 199.37. His knocks in the semifinal and the final were match-defining.
That is the gap Ashwin is pointing at. Not three low scores in isolation. Three low scores after a World Cup.
“Right now, I’m concerned because Sanju Samson has been dropped very quickly. What will Sanju be thinking now? How will he approach practice in the nets? At the moment, India have three left-handers in a row — Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Ishan Kishan. I think they might even look at Sanju at No. 3 as a way to compensate because everyone in the coaching staff, including Gautam Gambhir, knows this wasn’t fair on Sanju.”
Ravichandran Ashwin, YouTube channel, July 5, 2026
Ashwin’s concern stretches beyond this one selection. He connects it to how India manages players who deliver in high-pressure moments.
“You have two or three series ahead of you. Whoever performs well will stay in the team. If you’ve won us a World Cup, I would give you a longer rope. I said the same thing when Suryakumar Yadav was left out. Removing him as captain was fine, but maybe dropping him from the team wasn’t. I would have given that clarity: perform in these series and you’ll keep your place.”
Ravichandran Ashwin, YouTube channel, July 5, 2026
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Ashwin’s warning lands differently because he did not observe this pattern from the outside. He lived it.
He retired mid-tour during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in late 2024 after years of being selected for India squads without a clear role. He was not told he was being phased out. He was not told where he stood. He was present, sometimes played, sometimes not, with no communication about what the future held. He left because that uncertainty became impossible to work within.
When a player does not know where he stands, his preparation changes. He is not working on his game in the nets anymore. He is managing his own head. He is reading body language, interpreting silences, trying to calculate whether he is in or out of the plan. The cricket becomes secondary to the calculation.
Now Samson sits in the same place. And what makes this harder is what happened at the boundary before the match.
Gambhir was seen walking out to Samson at Old Trafford, placing an arm around him, holding a long and animated conversation. Television cameras caught Samson standing with his hands on his hips and his head down. Gambhir eventually hugged him. Every player in that dressing room saw that exchange.
What they read from it is not reassurance. When a coach has to console a World Cup Player of the Tournament at the boundary rope, it tells every other player in the group that no level of performance creates a guarantee. The hug does not close the wound. In a dressing room, it confirms the injury.
This is what Ashwin means when he asks what Samson will be thinking now and how he will approach practice in the nets. It is not a rhetorical question. It is a description of exactly what this moment does to a player.
Ashwin had defended Gambhir just days earlier after India’s 2-0 series loss to Ireland, calling him “a misunderstood person.” He has now moved off that position. That shift carries its own weight.
This is also not the first time Ashwin has raised this concern. He previously revealed that Kuldeep Yadav was not rested during India’s England Test series. He was dropped, while the team described it differently. The pattern Ashwin is identifying is the same in both cases: players dropped without honest communication, left to make sense of the silence on their own.
Ashwin was not the only voice to push back. Morne Morkel also backed Samson after the dropping, with former India batter Ambati Rayudu posting on X:
“Let’s spare a thought for Sanju Samson. Very happy to see Vaibhav make his debut and it deserves a celebration but let’s not forget that Sanju was the man of the tournament in the T20 World Cup just 3 T20 games ago. I just hope he comes back strong and also wish Vaibhav a very long and a record shattering career.”
Ambati Rayudu, X (Twitter), July 5, 2026
Great to see Vaibhav in India colours. But what about Samson! Dropped?? Are you kidding me!
No, I guess, injured. Let’s hope it’s injury. Or it’s the most bizarre selection.
Could have easily batted at 3 if you wanted to get Vaibhav in.
— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) July 5, 2026
Sanjay Manjrekar was more blunt on X:
“Great to see Vaibhav in India colours. But what about Samson! Dropped?? Are you kidding me! No, I guess, injured. Let’s hope it’s injury. Or it’s the most bizarre selection. Could have easily batted at 3 if you wanted to get Vaibhav in.”
Sanjay Manjrekar, X (Twitter), July 5, 2026
The third T20I takes place at Trent Bridge on July 7. Whether Samson returns or not, the question Ashwin has raised will not disappear with the next result. Selection calls are forgotten when performances follow. When they do not, they become part of a longer story about how this team treats the players who deliver for it.
Sanju Samson has not made a public statement on this matter.
Sources
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- Ravichandran Ashwin, YouTube channel, July 5, 2026 CricketAddictor
- Sanjay Manjrekar, X (Twitter), July 5, 2026 Telangana Today
- Ambati Rayudu, X (Twitter), July 5, 2026Â Telangana Today
- T20 World Cup 2026 – Samson takes centre stage ESPNcricinfo
