According to former India cricketer and selection committee chairman MSK Prasad, head coach Gautam Gambhir did not have the best players available during the T20I series against England and Ireland because pacer Jasprit Bumrah and all-rounder Hardik Pandya were not on the touring team.
Bumrah was rested for the shortest format, and Pandya was dropped off the team owing to fitness concerns. India was defeated 0-2 by Ireland and 0-4 by England in both series.
“Just because the team has not done well, we cannot put the onus on head coach alone. We cannot say Gambhir has not inspired the team. At the same time, just because we won tournaments or World Cups doesn’t mean that it’s only Gambhir who has inspired the team. It is a combination of many things. It is too premature to write off Gambhir,” Prasad told PTI in an interview on Monday.
“What we have to assess is when we play the next T20I series when the whole side is there, including Bumrah and Pandya, how does this team fare? Then we can talk about who is inspiring whom, or whether the captain is able to handle it, or coach is able to handle it. So, the next T20 series is something we have to really assess.”
Prasad also questioned why Sanju Samson was dropped so quickly. “Why the axe is always on Sanju? Dropping Sanju was a big mistake. He is the best player in English conditions. He is extremely good when the wickets are hard and have bounce,” he said.
“He delivered match-winning performances in quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals of the recently won T20 World Cup. He is the player of the World Cup. And suddenly, in 2-3 matches, he doesn’t get runs and you are dropping him.”
“A little unrest in the playing XI” has resulted from Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s debut during the T20I series against England, according to Prasad.
“Sending Vaibhav to Ireland and Zimbabwe is acceptable. Because if you have to build a player, I think you should build him slowly, especially while dealing with an unbelievable talent of 15 years age.
“We need to be very careful and cautious about fielding him. See, this has caused a little unrest in the playing 11, the kind of pressure that all quarters put on the coach and the captain to play Vaibhav. First couple of matches, Sanju didn’t do well. So, there was a lot of pressure. When Vaibhav didn’t do well, there was again a lot of pressure to bring back Sanju,” he pointed out.
He claimed it was a mistake to exclude Sooryavanshi from the Ireland series.
“To start with, he should have waited with Vaibhav, letting him go through one complete season of Indian domestic cricket. He has been playing continuously, IPL then India A series, he has been on the road for quite some time.
“For someone that age, it is always better to slowly bring him through the ranks. He should have, first of all, included him in the Ireland series. Not including him in the Ireland series first was a mistake,” said Prasad.
