India’s abject surrender in the T20I series in Ireland and England, losing six of the seven matches on tour, has surfaced widespread criticism of head coach Gautam Gambhir and the team management’s selection policies.
Out-of-favour India batter Hanuma Vihari led the criticism on social media following India’s crushing 4-0 series loss to England on Saturday. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Vihari minced no words as he slammed Gambhir for his preference for particular players and also questioned the persistent inclusion of all-rounders Shivam Dube and Washington Sundar despite poor form.
“Gautam Gambhir has certain favourite players and he wants to take them and play them. I don’t see any value in these players added to the side,” Vihari said in a video on his YouTube channel.
‘Why are they in the team?’
“I don’t understand what some players are doing in the team. Dube does not bowl, cannot field, and has not shown that form in batting either. Shedge was also not impressive in bowling or batting. I have no idea why Washington Sundar is still continuing in the team. If you look at his contributions over the years, it has not been that great,” he added.
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Vihari also questioned the constant chopping and changin of the playing XI combinations during the series, insisting that the management failed to instil security in the handling of Sanju Samson and teenage star Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in the series. While Samson featured in four games altogether, he was benched in between where Sooryavanshi featured in three matches before being dropped for the Kerala wicket-keeper again.
“Spinners were the problem, whether Varun Chakaravarthy or Axar Patel. Why was Ravi Bishnoi taken on this tour? The problem is in the squad selection and the playing XI selection. You gave Samson opportunities in Ireland and then played Suryavanshi. You dropped him also after three games. There is no security anywhere in the team. If you do not perform, you will be kicked out. You should give it a long run. If you were fixed on playing Suryavanshi, at least give him five or six games and then decide whether he is good enough or not. I don’t think this is the right attitude. Security is important for players,” Vihari added.
India suffered their worst losing streak in the T20I format, with Shreyas Iyer’s side becoming the first to lose consecutive series in seven years. Losing the final T20I in Southampton, India also conceded the No. 1 rank in the format only four months after lifting their T20 World Cup title.
“There was a lot of chopping and changing in this series. We have never seen this before. Even when Suryakumar Yadav led the team in the World Cup, there were only minimal changes. I feel sad for Samson as he was made the scapegoat. Suryavanshi failed in three games so you removed him and brought Samson back.
“This is not right at all. For a team to be built, a player should get the right amount of chances. Players will play for their place otherwise, and it will create insecurity,” said Vihari.
