India, Sept. 11 -- Former India all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin shed new light on India head coach Gautam Gambhir's unwavering faith in wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson, revealing a powerful anecdote during a recent video on his YouTube channel. According to Ashwin, Samson told him during an interview on Kutty Stories that Gambhir had promised him a long rope, saying, "If you bat 21 times and get out for a duck, I will still pick you in the 22nd innings."

What Samson had actually told Ashwin was slightly different. "Only if you score 21 ducks, I will drop you from the team," Gambhir had said, according to Samson.

The bold statement from Gambhirm was more than just words, as Sanju Samson was named in India's playing XI against the UAE in...