Former India batter Mohammad Kaif didn’t mince his words as he launched a brutal attack on the team management headed by coach Gautam Gambhir for the unprofessional treatment of Sanju Samson and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in the series against Ireland and England. The Men in Blue played seven T20Is against Ireland and England and lost six, with the remaining contests washed out due to rain. Shreyas Iyer’s captaincy era got off to a horrible start, and India even lost its No.1 T20I ranking.
The series losses also saw a game of musical chairs being played between Sooryavanshi and Samson. The 15-year-old sensation initially didn’t make his debut against Ireland, but the management finally buckled under pressure and gave the youngster a debut against England. It just took three games for Samson to be dropped from the playing XI, and much regard was not shown towards his Player of the Tournament performance in the T20 World Cup.
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However, Sooryavanshi failed to replicate his IPL form and registered three back-to-back low scores against the Three Lions. The management then dropped him for the fifth T20I and brought Samson back.
This treatment of the two batters hasn’t impressed Kaif, who called the current team management “confused”, saying the need of the hour is to give players confidence and not put doubt in their minds.
“Never seen a more confused Indian cricket team management. The handling of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Sanju Samson has been far from professional. One is a generational talent, another World Cup winner – they need to be given confidence not doubts in their minds,” Kaif wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Samson conundrum
It is worth noting that Samson is not part of the squad for the T20Is against Zimbabwe later this month, and there is no clarity on whether the right-hander has been rested or dropped. However, Sooryavanshi is a part of the squad and is expected to get game time against Zimbabwe.
Samson, who made a comeback in the fifth and final T20I, scored a quickfire 27but lost his wicket to Sam Curran. The final game of the five-match series saw England hammer 257 runs on the board, and the visitors lost the contest by 56 runs.
The last three T20Is saw India being battered, and there was no even contest on the field. The performance left much to be desired, and serious questions are being asked of the management. The BCCI has announced it will review the team’s performance in the UK after the ODI series between India and England.