Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif has strongly criticised the Indian team management, led by head coach Gautam Gambhir, over its handling of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Sanju Samson during the recently concluded T20I assignments against Ireland and England. India's disappointing run, which saw the team lose six of the seven matches played across the two series, has sparked questions over several selection decisions, with Kaif calling out the frequent changes involving the two batters.
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Mohammad Kaif questions India's handling of Sooryavanshi and Samson
Kaif took to social media to express his disappointment with the manner in which the Indian team management rotated Sooryavanshi and Samson throughout the Ireland and England series. The former India batter felt the constant chopping and changing reflected poorly on the management and risked hurting the confidence of both players.
"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's remarks came after India's underwhelming tour, which marked a difficult start to Shreyas Iyer's tenure as T20I captain. Apart from suffering series defeats against both Ireland and England, India also surrendered the No.1 spot in the ICC T20I rankings.
Selection shuffle raises questions after disappointing series
The controversy stems from the management's repeated changes to the playing XI involving Sooryavanshi and Samson. The 15-year-old Sooryavanshi did not feature during the Ireland series before making his much-anticipated international debut against England. However, after three low scores, the youngster was dropped for the fifth and final T20I.
Sanju Samson, meanwhile, was left out after Sooryavanshi's inclusion despite playing a key role in India's victorious T20 World Cup campaign and winning the Player of the Tournament award. He was eventually recalled for the series finale after Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's struggles at the top of the order.
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The back-and-forth selection decisions have now become one of the biggest talking points following India's poor T20I campaign, with Kaif urging the team management to back players with greater consistency instead of creating uncertainty through frequent changes.