India, March 9 -- Sanju Samson's return to India's XI against the West Indies had already stirred the usual noise around team balance, combinations and whether the management was trying to tweak the top order against a particular kind of bowling. Gautam Gambhir, though, made it clear that the decision had come from a far simpler place.

Samson had been left out after a few matches before being brought back, but India's head coach said the recall was never about countering an off-spinner from one end or breaking up the left-handers at the top. For Gambhir, it was about adding even more aggression to a batting line-up already loaded with power.

"The reason to get in Sanju was not about managing the off-spinner from the other end. It was ab...