table of contents
Former Indian batsman Mohammad Kaif has openly criticized the national selectors after Sanju Samson was dropped from the T20 squad. Kaif believes that the biggest mistake was to make Shreyas Iyer the captain and Tilak Verma as the vice-captain, as that decision has made it very difficult for the team management to make changes in the playing eleven.
His comments came after India’s 125-run defeat against England in the third T20I, even after Samson was dropped due to his three poor performances. Later, the Kerala star was sidelined for the upcoming three-match T20I series against Zimbabwe. This sparked a massive debate in the cricket world.
Mohammad Kaif says that making Shreyas Iyer the captain and Tilak Verma the vice-captain was India’s biggest mistake.
Mohammad Kaif said that he had no definite place in India’s T20I playing eleven before Shreyas Iyer and Tilak Verma were given the leadership role. He admitted that Tilak has played some good innings for India but still believes that his place in the playing eleven is not assured.
He boldly said that making Iyer the captain and Tilak the vice-captain was a big mistake, as these decisions left the Indian cricket team management with very few options while selecting the playing eleven and Sanju Samson has become the biggest victim of this selection strategy.
Mohammad Kaif said on his YouTube channel, “You have made two players captain and vice-captain, who probably do not even deserve a guaranteed place in the playing eleven in every match. Yes, Tilak is a 50-50 call. He has won matches and played well.”
“I am not denying it. But the problem is that you have no flexibility now. Once you make them captain and vice-captain, they automatically become unplayable. And because of this, you are removing Sanju.”
Mohammad Kaif raised questions on Shreyas Iyer’s return as captain
Kaif also questioned the decision to bring Shreyas Iyer straight back into the T20 team as captain. The former India batsman feels that the team management could have given more chances to Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Sanju Samson before making any major changes.
He further added, “So I think leaving out Sanju was a big decision. You could have handled the situation differently. If Shreyas Iyer was not the captain, you could have told him, ‘You have performed well and earned your place back in the team, but there is no place for you in the playing eleven right now.’ Meanwhile, MSK Prasad has broken his silence on Sanju Samson being dropped from the Zimbabwe tour.
Mohammad Kaif seeks answers after Sanju Samson pays price for India’s leadership gamble
Notably, Iyer has scored 110 runs so far in the ongoing five-match T20 series against England, while Tilak has managed to score only 40 runs so far. And the former cricketer believes that leadership appointments have made team selection more complex and reduced the flexibility of selectors.
Kaif said, “Those who have taken this decision should be questioned. I don’t think this has ever happened in the history of Indian cricket, where someone who was not even a part of the T20 team became the captain straightaway. I don’t think this has ever happened before.”