Batsman Hanuma Vihari, who is out of the Indian team, has criticized head coach Gautam Gambhir over the selection policy of Team India after the 4-0 defeat in the T20 series against England. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Vihari said that Gambhir continues to support certain players regardless of their performance on the field.
The comments came after the Indian cricket team had a disappointing white-ball tour under captain Shreyas Iyer. The Men in Blue won only one of the last seven matches, losing the T20I series 2-0 to Ireland before suffering a 4-0 defeat against England, raising fresh questions over team selection and overall performance.
I don’t see any value- Hanuma Vihari questions the selection of Gautam GambhirS
Hanuma Vihari claimed this Gautam Gambhir is in controversies these daysContinues to support some favorite players. He questioned the selection of Shivam Dubey, Suryansh Shedge and Washington Sundar, saying that their performances did not justify their place in the T20 team.
“Gautam Gambhir has some favorite players and he wants to take them and play them. I don’t see any value in these players added to the team. I don’t understand what some players are doing in the team.”
“Dubey doesn’t bowl, can’t field and hasn’t shown that form with the bat either. Shez was also not impressive in bowling or batting. I don’t know why Washington Sundar is still in the team. If you look at his contribution over the last few years, it hasn’t been that good.”
Dubey scored 85 runs in five matches against England and bowled only three overs, taking two wickets. Shez scored seven and conceded 39 runs from three wicketless overs in his only appearance, while Washington scored five and bowled just one over, conceding 19 runs.
There is no security anywhere in the team – Hanuma Vihari criticized the frequent changes.
Hanuma Vihari also blamed the frequent changes in the team and playing eleven for India’s poor series. He said players need a long haul to prove themselves and pointed to the management of Sanju Samson and Vaibhav Suryavanshi as examples of inconsistent selection.
“Spinners were the problem, be it Varun Chakravarthy or Axar Patel. Why was Ravi Bishnoi taken on this tour? The problem is in team selection and playing XI selection. You gave chances to Samson in Ireland and then played Suryavanshi.”
“You also dropped him after three games. There is no security anywhere in the team. If you don’t perform, you will be dropped. You should give it a longer run. If you were hell-bent on playing Suryavanshi, at least give him five or six games and then decide whether he is good enough or not.”
Sanju Samson played the opening T20 match before making way for Suryavanshi, who played in the next three matches. Samson returned in the fifth T20I after Kishore was ruled out. Such frequent changes make it difficult for players to settle down and perform consistently.
Hanuma Vihari: Hero of India’s historic Sydney Testw
Hanuma Vihari played one of the most courageous innings in Indian Test history during the 2021 Sydney Test against Australia. Chasing a target of 407 on the final day, he battled a serious right hamstring injury to help India set up a memorable draw with Ravichandran Ashwin.
Vihari got injured as soon as he reached the crease, due to which he could not take the single quickly. Despite the pain, he remained unbeaten on 23 off 161 balls and shared an unbroken 62-run partnership with Ashwin for the sixth wicket, as India finished at 334/5.
Hanuma Vihari adopted a defensive approach to avoid Australia’s relentless bowling attack. Remarkably, he scored only six runs off his first 100 balls, the second lowest score by any batsman after facing 100 balls in Test cricket, while helping India save the match and keep the series level.