Sanju Samson ‘removed’ from Gill’s Instagram post? Social media claim sparks debate

India’s ODI and Test skipper Shubman Gill has found himself at the centre of a social media controversy over a photo he posted on social media congratulating the Indian team that won the T20 World Cup on Sunday. Gill shared a photo of the team’s celebration on his social media pages, praising the players for their achievement.

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A post shared by Ꮪhubman Gill (@shubmangill)

Champions🏆🏆🏆🇮🇳🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/viDQNN8ppQ

— Shubman Gill (@ShubmanGill) March 8, 2026

However, soon after the post went online, some social media users came out accusing Gill of doctoring the image. They claimed that he had deliberately removed Indian wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson from the original photo. According to these critics, Gill allegedly did this because Sanju had replaced him in India’s squad for the T20I series against New Zealand and the World Cup that followed.

The accusation quickly spread across social media, with many users posting critical comments under Gill’s post. Some users pointed out that the move, if true, would reflect poorly on the Indian captain.

However, several media outlets later conducted fact checks and found that the claim was false. Reports noted that the same photo had been shared by multiple cricketers, and in those posts as well, Sanju was not visible in the frame.

Among those who posted the same picture were India all-rounder Shivam Dube, young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, and former India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. In their posts too, the image appeared identical, with no sign of Sanju in the frame.

Fact checks concluded that the image Gill shared was likely just one of the several photos clicked during the team’s celebration and that Sanju simply was not present in that particular shot. There was no evidence to suggest that the photo had been altered or edited to remove him.