Sanju Samson ‘no small name’, Gambhir urged to stick with him ahead of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi: ‘Difficult conundrum’

Sooryavanshi earned Player of the Series honours after compiling over 200 runs during the three-fixture tour of Zimbabwe, where he paired with a struggling Abhishek while Samson took a rest. Prior to that, an erratic tour of the United Kingdom saw Samson benched after registering three cheap dismissals across two matches facing Ireland and one against England, only to return for the fifth English encounter following Sooryavanshi's own struggles.

Ex-India seamer Vivek Razdan has publicly championed Samson's inclusion over Sooryavanshi despite the teenager's intense internet popularity. Razdan pointed out that Abhishek and Ishan Kishan are immovable fixtures, leaving Samson to vie directly with Sooryavanshi for the remaining vacancy.

Emphasizing Samson's pivotal contribution as Player of the Tournament during India's recent T20 World Cup title run—where he amassed 300 runs at nearly a 200 strike rate—Razdan also noted that selecting the seasoned right-hander would provide vital balance to an otherwise left-hand dominant batting order alongside Iyer.

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