Gautam Gambhir And Co's 'Hypocrisy' Blasted Over Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's Ireland No-Show
India's batting coach Sitanshu Kotak, even before the start of the series, had made it clear that Vaibhav Sooryavanshi would have to wait for his chance, throwing his weight behind the established duo of Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson.
- Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was not included in India's playing XI against Ireland despite strong IPL performance
- Kaif criticized team management for inconsistent logic regarding player selection and leadership changes
- "Sooryavanshi's name should've been there. The logic given was that this is a WC-winning team," said Kaif
Former India batter Mohammed Kaif has exposed the hypocrisy of the Indian team management following teenager Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's no-show in the just-concluded two-match T20I series against Ireland. Many expected Sooryavanshi to make his much-awaited India debut, especially after a breakthrough Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign where he amassed 776 runs at a staggering strike rate of 237.30 to win the Orange Cap. India's batting coach Sitanshu Kotak, even before the start of the series, had made it clear that Sooryavanshi would have to wait for his chance, throwing his weight behind the T20 World Cup-winning opening duo of Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson.
But, with both Abhishek and Samson struggling during the series, the decision to omit Sooryavanshi from the playing XI has led to a backlash, especially with India losing the series 2-0 - their first-ever loss to Ireland in international cricket.
Speaking in a video posted on X, Kaif called out the team management for their hypocrisy, saying that if they wanted to stick with the T20 World Cup-winning team, they should also have applied the same logic after Rohit Sharma led India to the Champions Trophy.
"If we talk about the best playing XI, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi had a place in there; his name should have been there. The logic given was that this is a World Cup-winning team, so we will go with the same XI and Vaibhav will have to wait," said Kaif.
"But you have to be consistent with that logic, right? When Rohit Sharma was dropped as captain after winning the Champions Trophy, it was said that they were focused on the future, so they wanted a young captain," he added.
Kaif also gave the example of Suryakumar Yadav, who was stripped of the captaincy and dropped from the side by the team management despite leading India to the T20 World Cup title earlier this year.
"Same with Suryakumar Yadav as well, dropped after winning the World Cup and once again, being told that they are looking towards the future. If you are looking at the future, do you have a 15-year-old player who is bringing a better future than him?" noted Kaif.
India Cricket Team
Ireland Cricket Team