Former India player Mohammad Kaif said that the Indian team management looks confused and their handling of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Sanju Samson in the England series has been far from professional. Sanju played in the first match before it was washed out and then was dropped and replaced by Sooryavanshi for the next 3 matches. Sooryavanshi was then dropped in favour of Samson for the 5th T20I.
“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 said on X.
Even with the chopping and changing, the only thing that stayed consistent was that India lost all the last 4 matches and ended up conceding the series 4-0, their second successive series loss after their 2-0 defeat vs Ireland last month.
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.
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) July 12, 2026
Captain Shreyas Iyer explained the reasoning behind bringing back Sanju in place of Sooryavsnhi in the fifth and final T20I, stating that the team wanted a right-hander to open the batting with Abhishek Sharma and they wanted to try a new combination.
“We needed to try the best combination that would be perfect in these conditions. And we also wanted a right-hander to go on with Abhishek (Sharma). So, that was one of the major reasons. And if you see, I was the only one out of all the left-handers who was a right-hander,” Iyer said in the post-match press conference.
“So, as I mentioned earlier, we wanted to try a different combination which would be suitable for this particular game. And he’s a gun batsman. He has won so many series for us in the past. So, yeah, one of those reasons,” he added.
The series against England was Iyer’s second as captain, and the 31-year-old remains winless as the T20I captain. The right-hander admitted that the series was a learning experience for him and the other players in the squad, and that they were hurt by the defeat.
