'We want Sanju' chants erupt outside Trent Bridge after India's loss

The absence of Sanju Samson from the Indian T20I side’s eleven hasn’t satisfied the fans, as they went wild with ‘we want Sanju’ chants outside the Trent Bridge stadium in Nottingham when the Indian players made their way out of the venue after the defeat during the third T20I of the series.

India, under the leadership of Shreyas Iyer, came into the five-match T20I series against England after losing the historic two-match T20I series against Ireland. The pressure has been massive on the current T20 World Cup 2026 champions.

Fans chant 'we want Sanju Samson' outside Trent Bridge as India suffer 125-run defeat to England

The three-time T20 World Champions were bundled out for just 76 runs in the third T20I, which is their second-lowest score in the shortest format, as they registered their biggest defeat in the shortest format. As the players made their way to the team bus after the game, the fans chanted ‘we want Sanju’ after the senior batter did not get a longer rope with the bat.

Watch the 'we want Sanju' chant here-

Samson hasn’t even been considered for India’s upcoming three-match T20I series against Zimbabwe, as board members have claimed he has been given a break. Meanwhile, his participation even in the Asian Games 2026 is under the scanner.

The 31-year-old, in his last three T20Is, smashed just six runs, including two ducks. He, although, was in decent touch during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 for the Chennai Super Kings, when he clubbed 477 runs in 14 innings at a strike rate of 165.62 with two centuries and one fifty.

Why was Sanju Samson dropped? Gautam Gambhir breaks silence on selection call?

The Indian head coach, Gautam Gambhir, however, mentioned that Samson has been given clarity on being dropped. He revealed that the wicket-keeper batter’s lack of form led to him warming the benches.

“The first thing is that regarding the clarity Sanju Samson needed, he has been given that from my side. That’s a conversation strictly between the player and the head coach. That conversation is not going to come outside.” Gambhir said in the post-match press conference.

“Regarding Sanju, we are very clear what he has done for India has been phenomenal, and sometimes you just have to look at the form of a certain player. There is no hard and fast rule that he cannot make a comeback in this series.” He added.