Former India captain Kris Srikkanth criticized Shreyas Iyer for his comments on Vaibhav Suryavanshi during the toss of India vs England 5.th T20I match in Southampton. The Iyer-led side left the 15-year-old batsman out of the match, saying it was best for the team moving forward.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi made his Team India debut in the T20I format against England in place of Sanju Samson during the recently concluded 5-match T20I series. Since Vaibhav also failed to perform well at the top of the batting order, the team management again turned to Sanju.
Chris Srikkanth expressed concern over the attitude of Indian team management towards Vaibhav Suryavanshi
Kris Srikkanth lost his cool over the way he treated Vaibhav Suryavanshi during the T20 series against Ireland and England. The teenage sensation made his T20I debut in place of aggressive opener Sanju Samson during the second match of the series in Manchester.
Vaibhav got to play only three matches for the team before being dropped from the playing combination as he failed to replicate his IPL 2026 form. In three matches, this left-handed batsman could not touch the 20-run mark in at least any match.
Shreyas Iyer told why Vaibhav Suryavanshi was dropped from the playing eleven.
Leaving out a phenomenal talent like Vaibhav Suryavanshi was a big decision taken by the Indian team management. For obvious reasons, after the toss of 5th In the match of the five-match series, Shreyas Iyer was asked the reason for excluding the young batsman from the playing eleven.
In response, team captain Shreyas Iyer mentioned that he preferred to drop Vaibhav over bringing Sanju Samson back to the starting position, as it seemed to be best for the team with an eye on the future.
“I think this is the time when we need to try to do what is best for us as a team. So based on that we took this decision,” Shreyas told the broadcaster after the toss.
Why is Gautam Gambhir still the head coach of Team India? Chris Srikkanth raised the question
Chris Srikkanth does not go well with the comments made by Shreyas Iyer, as it could have a negative impact on the budding opener’s mind and form. The former India captain said that if the team wanted to perform at its best, then why did he not choose to move on from head coach Gautam Gambhir?
“I was very upset with the interview after the toss. This is not the way to talk. How you treat your players and how you build a young team is important. If this is the way forward, then the way forward is to change everyone (the leadership group). That said, we want to take the best path,” Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel.
“If you are willing to drop players on the basis of their performance, then the same criteria should apply to Gautam Gambhir; the same criteria should apply to the captain as well. You are saying that the players are not performing. What has been your performance? What did Vaibhav Suryavanshi do wrong? Is this how you groom young players?” He raised questions in this video.