Team India is on cloud nine after becoming the first team to successfully defend the T20 World Cup. The Men in Blue also became the first team to lift the trophy on home soil when they defeated New Zealand by 96 runs at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday, March 8 .
Sanju Samson was declared the Player of the Tournament for his three consecutive half-century knocks that were crucial to India’s glorious run. After remaining unbeaten on 97 against the West Indies in a virtual quarter-final, the Kerala wicket-keeper scored 89 apiece against England and New Zealand in the semi-final and the summit clash.
It was redemption for the batter, whose complete failure in the run-up to the tournament against the Kiwis had cost him a spot in the starting line-up. However, India had to turn to Samson after Abhishek Sharma fell ill, and the 31-year-old made the most of the chance. Earlier, he made quickfire 22 and 24 against Namibia and Zimbabwe respectively, and India were able to built on this flying start.
Meanwhile, Indian batter Shubman Gill is being called out by cricket fans over a social media post. Gill, who was omitted from the Indian squad for the T20 World Cup, had posted a photo of the team on the trophy podium, captioned “Champions.”
Fans were unhappy that Samson was missing from the photo. At a time when the cricket fraternity hailed Samson for his invaluable role in the historic win, fans asked how a fellow player could choose to post a photo without the wicket-keeper in it. Many claimed that Gill was jealous of Samson and that leaving him out was no honest mistake. Angry fans reacted by commenting with GIFs that showed Suryakumar bowing before Samson after his knock against the West Indies and the star looking at the heavens after taking India home single-handedly. Others accused Gill of editing Sanju Samson out of the image, as the photo posted by Suryakumar Yadav on the same day looked almost the same, but with Samson partially visible behind Jasprit Bumrah.
Shubman Gill’s omission
Earlier, Samson had to sacrifice his opening spot and move into the middle order for Gill, who is the poster boy of the national team in the post-Kohli era. The Kerala batter was struggling when this move happened, and the availability of Jitesh Sharma meant his spot in the playing eleven was once again doubtful. However, he did not complain and said that he was open to playing anywhere the team wanted him to.
When the World Cup squad was announced, three of the five selectors went against the inclusion of Gill, as the Punjab batter takes his time to settle down, unlike Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson, who can go all guns blazing from the first ball. Since the majority (three out of five) wanted openers to show intent in the tournament, Gill had to sit out.
When a player of Gill's stature with a vice-captaincy tag is removed without fuss, it sends a strong statement to all players that reputations do not matter much anymore. Ironically, this fits well with Gambhir's long-time stand on a 'No Superstar' culture, though he was reportedly in favour of Gill's selection here.
