Gautam Gambhir's Bold Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Call Grilled: "Why Did He Get A Chance?"
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi had to settle for a spot on the bench as the Gautam Gambhir-led team management picked Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma as the opening pair for the first T20I against Afghanistan on Sunday.
- India opened with Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma in first T20I vs Afghanistan, benching Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
- Abhishek Sharma scored 82 runs while Sanju Samson managed only 10 runs in the match
- Mohammad Kaif questioned the team management’s decision to prefer Samson over in-form Sooryavanshi
India's opening pair for the first T20I against Afghanistan was Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma, as the management decided to bench the in-form Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. While Abhishek grabbed the opportunity with both hands, slamming an 82-run knock, Samson was dismissed for just 10. Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif was baffled to see Samson being preferred over Sooryavanshi. He decided to grill the Shreyas Iyer and Gautam Gambhir-led team management, asking what exactly Samson did during the phase when he was out of the team to be rewarded with a place in the starting XI.
Samson didn't make the cut as the BCCI announced the squad for the Zimbabwe tour, where Sooryavanshi emerged as the Player of the Series. The teenage opener opened with Abhishek in that series, having made his debut against England in the previous assignment. Yet, when the playing XI for the first T20I between India and Afghanistan was announced on Sunday, it was the pairing of Samson and Abhishek that was preferred.
"What did Sanju do in between to get a chance today? Usually, when you are dropped, you play here and there and regain some form; nothing like that has happened," Kaif said while speaking on Cricbuzz.
"Why did he get a chance? That's a massive question. Why did not you go with the same combination after Vaibhav scored runs in Zimbabwe? That's another question," Kaif said.
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Kaif sympathised with Sooryavanshi, saying the youngster might be wondering what exactly his fault was, because of which he had to warm the bench.
"In my opinion, they are hesitating a bit; they are unsure of what their best opening combination is. The Indian team are still thinking about it. Vaibhav must be saying 'What did I do wrong?'," Kaif added.
As experiments continue to find what India's strongest playing XI in the T20I format is, it's undeniably difficult to find the two best players between Abhishek, Samson and Sooryavanshi.
At present, it looks like the management is leaning towards continuing with Samson and Abhishek, with Sooryavanshi only being considered as a back-up option who is likely to get only sporadic opportunities.
India Cricket Team
Afghanistan
Sanju Samson
Gautam Gambhir