India’s decision to bench young batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in the final two T20Is against New Zealand has not gone down well with former India cricketer and selector Krishnamachari Srikkanth. He has questioned head coach Gautam Gambhir and the team management, saying their selection decisions are creating unnecessary insecurity among players.
India had taken an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match T20I series but lost the last two matches, eventually finishing with a 3-2 series victory.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was not included in India’s playing XI for either of the final two games. The teenager had impressed everyone with his explosive knock of 45 runs off just 19 balls in the third T20I in Wellington. However, Ishan Kishan returned to the team after recovering from an injury. Ishan Kishan had been replaced by Vaibhav Sooryavanshi for the second and third matches. Meanwhile, Sanju Samson continued to get opportunities despite struggling to score runs.
Kris Srikkanth questioned why the team management decided to drop Vaibhav Sooryavanshi after just one impressive performance. He believes the youngster needs regular opportunities to develop, especially after showing that he can perform in challenging overseas conditions.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, the former India opener criticised the management for giving the youngster an opportunity in one match and then leaving him out of the next two. He felt such decisions could make players uncertain about their positions in the team, whether it is Vaibhav Sooryavanshi or Sanju Samson. Srikkanth also pointed out that Vaibhav Sooryavanshi had performed well in New Zealand conditions and deserved a longer run in the playing XI rather than being dropped immediately after delivering a good performance.
The former selector also discussed Sanju Samson’s recent difficulties while batting in overseas conditions. However, he clarified that he was not suggesting that Sanju Samson should be dropped permanently. Instead, he wanted India to manage its three opening options more fairly by rotating them and giving each player a reasonable opportunity.
According to Srikkanth, India could give Sanju Samson a break when required or rotate all three openers equally. However, he felt that repeatedly keeping Vaibhav Sooryavanshi on the bench was not the right approach. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi made his India debut against England earlier this year after receiving his maiden national team call-up for the Ireland tour.
Krishnamachari Srikkanth also questioned why the young batter was not given more opportunities during India’s earlier assignments against teams with comparatively weaker bowling attacks. He specifically mentioned the West Indies series, arguing that Vaibhav Sooryavanshi should have been given chances in all five matches because of the relatively inexperienced bowling attack. He also highlighted that the youngster missed opportunities during India’s series against Afghanistan and Ireland.
The former India selector believes the team management should have used these assignments to give Vaibhav Sooryavanshi more exposure at the international level instead of keeping him out of the playing XI.
Do you agree with Krishnamachari Srikkanth?
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