New Delhi, March 15 Sanju Samson possesses the ability to dominate the opposition from the very beginning of the Powerplay when he is at his best, said India head coach Gautam Gambhir.
Samson delivered crucial performances towards the end of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, smashing explosive half-centuries in the semi-final and final to help India win their record third title.
Alongside Abhishek Sharma, Samson took the game away from New Zealand in the final by scoring 92 runs in the Powerplay.
"We know what Sanju can do; there was never any doubt about his talent and explosiveness. If he gets going, he can win you the game in the first six overs," Gambhir said on Jio Star.
Samson was not part of the playing XI in the World Cup after a disappointing series against New Zealand.
But given a chance in the must-win game against Zimbabwe, Samson delivered a blazing start with a 24-run innings off 15 balls.
In India's last three games, he scored 97 not out, 89, and 89.
"I told him this in the gym. In fact, we were both training together, and I just told him that he would be playing against Zimbabwe, and he said, 'let it come.' That's the kind of casual conversation we have. It's not like a head coach and player's relationship. It's a relationship where most of our one-on-one conversations happen during practice sessions," he said.
Without Samson in the side, India's top order consisted of three left-handed batsmen in Ishan Kishan, Abhishek Sharma, and Tilak Varma.
But Gambhir asserted that the decision to bring Samson into the playing XI was not aimed at breaking the left-handed combination but at adding firepower.
"I know that a lot of people will talk about how we wanted to break the three left-handers at the top, but that's not true. We just felt that we wanted to be more explosive because the ideology in the last one and a half years has been to go out there and be as explosive as we can be," he said.
"The reason to bring in Sanju was not about managing the off-spinner from the other end. It was about whether we could get even more firepower at the top and be more aggressive in the first six overs."
Abhishek had a difficult first half of the tournament with three ducks, but the opener bounced back with two half-centuries, including one in the final.
"I've had a worse experience than him in 2014 during the IPL, when I got three ducks in a row, and then another in the fourth game as well. All I told him was that people will look at your scores and talk about your form, but actually, you're not out of form; you're just out of runs," he said.
"The only time you can judge your form is when you've played 20 to 30 balls in the middle, and he hasn't even faced 20 balls yet. All I wanted him to do was go out there in the next game and be even more aggressive than he was in the previous game."
"There was no doubt whatsoever about Abhishek. For anyone, to be honest, in that dressing room, we always had faith and trust in everyone who was selected to represent the country in the T20 World Cup."