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Former Indian batsman Mohammad Kaif has sparked a fresh debate on the national cricket team’s latest selection criteria after Suryansh Shedge was selected as Nitish Kumar Reddy’s replacement for the ongoing T20 series against Ireland and the upcoming England tour.
Ahead of the second T20I in Belfast on Sunday (June 28), Kaif questioned whether Indian cricket has started calling too many players “all-rounders” when they are not actually contributing equally to the team with both bat and ball.
Mohammad Kaif criticizes India’s all-rounder selection after Suryansh Shedge’s debut
In fact, Suryansh Shedge was included in the team in India for the first time after Nitish Kumar Reddy was ruled out of the tour of Ireland and England due to a left quadriceps injury. Nitish has been struggling with fitness for the last few years and has missed many matches due to frequent injuries.
His latest injury forced the selectors to look for a replacement and the 23-year-old Mumbai all-rounder got his chance. Suryansh Shedge earned his place ahead of his impressive performances for India A in the recent one-day tri-series, where India A defeated Sri Lanka A and Afghanistan A to lift the trophy.
Shej, batting in the lower middle order, scored 147 runs at a strike rate of 120.49. He bowled 23 overs in five innings and took two wickets while maintaining an economy rate of 6.04. The youngster also enjoyed a successful IPL 2026 season with Punjab Kings.
He scored 158 runs in seven innings at an average of 39.50 and an excellent strike rate of 175.55 and proved himself to be a powerful finisher. Suryansh Shedge did not get a chance in the first T20 match against Ireland and India suffered a crushing defeat by 34 runs in Belfast. However, Suryansh Shedge earned his first cap in the second and final T20I in Belfast.
Mohammad Kaif raised questions on India’s all-rounder culture
Ahead of India’s crucial clash, Mohammad Kaif questioned the way the term “all-rounder” is used in modern cricket, saying the meaning of a true all-rounder has changed over the years.
As Suryansh Shedge makes his debut for India on Sunday, Kaif said there is a huge difference between a proper all-rounder and a batsman who bowls only one or two overs. Meanwhile, the sponsorship deal got delayed ahead of the India debut due to Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s demand of ₹12 crore.
Mohammad Kaif told sports journalist Ravish Bisht on his YouTube channel, “I believe that a bowler who is a part-time bowler should not be called an all-rounder. I have been seeing for many years that you are calling Shivam Dubey an all-rounder.”
“He can bowl two overs. You are calling Hardik Pandya an all-rounder. You are calling Flintoff an all-rounder. You are calling Jacques Kallis an all-rounder, but there is a huge difference.”
Mohammed Kaif furious over ‘fake all-rounder’ tag, calls Kapil Dev, Kallis, Flintoff real
The former Indian batsman stressed that the occasional batsman or bowler should not be called an all-rounder because they do not do what the legendary all-rounders did with both bat and ball. He said that players like Kapil Dev, Jacques Kallis and Andrew Flintoff were true all-rounders as they could have a match-winning impact with both bat and ball.
Cricket pundits suggest that modern cricket should clearly differentiate batting all-rounders from genuine all-rounders rather than lumping them all into the same category.
Kaif further said, “Don’t call everyone an all-rounder. All-rounder means proper bowling and proper batting. Or you can also call him a batting all-rounder. He will bowl one or two overs. People are confusing the public here.”
“When we grew up, the all-rounder was Jacques Kallis. Take reverse swing and take the new ball. Bat number three. Andrew Flintoff was a finisher and a brilliant all-rounder. Kapil Dev was an all-rounder.”
