The recently-concluded Zimbabwe instilled confidence in the youngsters who stood up for the team when the seniors were not around. It was a kind of litmus test for the fresh faces, especially after the retirements of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja. The trio hung up their boots in the shortest format after winning the T20I World Cup in the Caribbean, passing the baton to the younger lot. The Shubman Gill-led side suffered a shocking 13-run defeat in the opening encounter but the unit bounced back terrifically to clinch the series 4-1.
The final game of the 5-match series was played on Sunday in Harare where Sanju Samson scored a commendable half-century and then, Mukesh Kumar registered his career-best bowling figures to defeat the hosts by 42 runs.
After the victory, the likes of Samson, Gill and Abhishek Sharma opened up about the experience they gained during the tour. For Gill, it was the first series win as the Indian captain. The Punjab batter, who scored his maiden international century in Zimbabwe, called it a ‘spectacular’ series.
“Sometimes we have to tighten up the screws which is also important (Kabhi kabhi thoda tight karney ka time hota hai to tight karna bhi zaroori hai). I have played with these players across age groups, which made my job as a captain quite easy,” Gill told bcci.tv.
“I scored my first international century here in Zimbabwe. Captaining here for the first time and winning the series is definitely very special for me. If I had to sum up the series in one word, I think it would be spectacular,” he added.
Samson also featured in the video shared by the BCCI on social media and spoke about his crucial 58-run innings after the visitors had lost their top three batters in the Powerplay.
“We were three wickets down, so it was very important for me to build a partnership with Riyan. Which we did, and then we got to a reasonable total to fight for the game. Our bowlers bowled really well,” Samson said.
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The Kerala wicketkeeper-batter, who made his international debut in Zimbabwe in 2025, was the senior-most figure in this dressing room. Sanju made sure he kept the environment cheerful so that the youngsters didn’t hesitate to approach him when needed.
“Honestly, you can’t teach them much. You can definitely be around them and stick with them. Whenever you make a relationship, that’s when people open up with you. So I need to behave in a manner where they come and ask me. So it’s like a brother-kind of relationship,” Samson said.
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