Mohammad Kaif slams Team India management over Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Sanju Samson handling

India’s disappointing white-ball tour has sparked fresh debate over the team’s selection decisions, with former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif openly criticising the management after the 4-0 T20I series defeat to England.

The reigning T20 World Cup champions struggled throughout the tour, first losing the series 2-0 to Ireland before suffering a comprehensive defeat in England. The poor run also saw India lose the No. 1 spot in the ICC Men’s T20I rankings.

One of the biggest talking points during the tour was the constant changes involving young opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson, with both players moving in and out of the playing XI.

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‘Never seen a more confused team management’: Kaif

Kaif did not hold back while reacting to the selection decisions, saying the handling of both batters lacked clarity and could affect their confidence.

“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 wrote on his ‘X’ account on Sunday.

Samson featured in the first three T20Is but failed to make an impact with the bat before being dropped. India then handed opportunities to teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, but he too struggled to convert his starts, failing to score more than 20 in his first three innings.

For the fifth and final T20I, Samson returned to the playing XI in place of Sooryavanshi as India looked to address the imbalance created by having too many left-handed batters at the top of the order.

But with the series over, Samson was omitted from the squad for the next Zimbabwe T20Is while Sooryavanshi stayed on, adding to the debate around India’s selection policy.

Sanjay Manjrekar questions IPL’s influence on selection

Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar also shared his views on India’s disappointing tour, saying selectors should not rely too heavily on IPL performances while picking T20I squads, especially for overseas conditions.

“The easy thing would be is to hold players responsible for this overseas T20 setback. The right thing would be is to hold those responsible who have made IPL such, that it puts a heavy make up on Indian batters.

“Challenge is for the selectors to imagine Indian batters without the heavy IPL make up on & pick only those for India. A lot of T20 cricket will be overseas now. The home fun run is over,” he wrote on his ‘X’ account.

With India now preparing for the three-match T20I series against Zimbabwe, the discussion around team selection is unlikely to die down anytime soon. The decisions surrounding Sanju Samson and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi have become one of the biggest talking points after India’s difficult tour, with former players calling for greater clarity and consistency from the team management.