Did Shubman Gill remove Sanju Samson from T20 World Cup celebration picture?

Team India emerged victorious in the final of the T20 World Cup 2026 by 96 runs against New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

In the image, the “Player of the Tournament”, Sanju Samson, is not visibly seen with Team India. Fans on social media have speculated that Shubman Gill may have deliberately excluded the Kerala-born cricketer from the photo.

 

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Ꮪhubman Gill (@shubmangill)

Some users have suggested that jealousy over Samson’s performances at the top order could be a factor.

Meanwhile, Team India’s opening batsman Yashasvi Jaiswal also shared a similar image on his official social media handle, in which Samson is again not visible.

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Yashasvi Jaiswal (@yashasvijaiswal28)

In the title clash of the marquee event, Samson delivered a crucial knock of 89 runs off 46 deliveries. His knock also included five boundaries and eight maximums. Along with him, Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan also registered half-centuries.

Abhishek amassed 52 runs in 21 balls, with the help of six boundaries and three maximums. Ishan departed after scoring 54 runs off 25 deliveries, laced with four boundaries and the same number of maximums.

Later, burly all-rounder Shivam Dube gave the finishing touches to India`s innings. Facing just eight balls, he smashed 26 runs, including three boundaries and two maximums. With this, the “Men in Blue” posted a total of 255 runs for the loss of five wickets in 20 overs.

New Zealand`s James Neesham returned with the figures of three wickets for 46 runs in four overs. Matt Henry and Rachin Ravindra also bagged one wicket each.

In the second essay of the game, the “Black Caps” were bowled out for 159 runs in 19 overs. Wicketkeeper-batsman Tim Seifert scored 52 runs in 26 balls, including two boundaries and five maximums. Skipper Mitchell Santner also garnered 43 runs after facing 35 balls. His knock ended with three boundaries and two maximums.

Team India`s lead pacer Jasprit Bumrah claimed four wickets by conceding 15 runs in four overs. Vice-captain Axar Patel also bagged three wickets for 27 runs in three overs. Hardik Pandya, Varun Chakaravarthy, and Abhishek Sharma registered one wicket each to their names. Arshdeep Singh went wicketless in the T20 World Cup 2026 final.