Former Indian selector Saba Karim has urged the BCCI to carefully review the role of the team management and find out what went wrong. His demand came after India suffered consecutive T20I series defeats in Ireland and England and failed to win a single full T20I on the tour.
India’s recent UK tour was a complete disappointment. The team first lost the two-match T20 series against Ireland 2-0. They then traveled to England and suffered another heavy defeat, losing the five-match T20I series 4–0. India failed to win a single game under the leadership of new captain Shreyas Iyer.
Recently, Kris Srikkanth questioned Shreyas Iyer on Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s derogatory comment.
Saba Karim demands major review of BCCI after India’s T-20 series defeat
As the Men in Blue are set to take on England in a three-match ODI series, Saba Karim wants the BCCI to review the performance of the coaching staff besides just the players. The former selector believes that everyone associated with the team should be held responsible for the disappointing results.
The former Indian wicketkeeper-batsman has stressed that the review should not be limited to just one person as the captain, vice-captain, head coach and support staff are the decision makers and are responsible for planning, team selection, match strategy and everything else.
Saba Karim was quoted by PTI: “After such a disastrous series – wiped out with a huge margin of defeat – no one can escape responsibility, not just the support staff including head coach Gautam Gambhir, but also the captain (Shreyas Iyer) and vice-captain (Tilak Verma). I think these guys are the think tank of the Indian team, especially when you are traveling outside India. The BCCI should investigate their role and responsibility for the debacle.”
Saba Karim supports Shreyas Iyer despite India’s T20I defeat
Even though he has questioned the leadership of the team, the former BCCI official has supported Shreyas Iyer as captain. He said that when the selectors have trusted Iyer with such a big responsibility, they should continue to support him instead of changing the captain after these two bad series.
Karim further added, “I hope that once you have invested in a captain like Shreyas Iyer, you will continue to support him more. But I also think now is the time for Iyer to assert himself about the kind of vision he has in terms of planning, in terms of resources. It is now up to him to take the team forward and put the right resources under him.”
Saba Karim sent a strong message before BCCI review
The former Indian selector also talked about the upcoming review meeting of BCCI. He said that the board has called everyone associated with the team to discuss the reasons for India’s poor performance.
He believes that such meetings are important because they help identify mistakes and decide what changes need to be made before the next assignment. The former selector also said that players should always feel confident and safe inside the dressing room.
He believes that the team management should create a positive environment where players can play fearless cricket without unnecessary pressure, especially in the T20 format. Meanwhile, Shubman Gill confirmed Virat Kohli’s role in finalizing India’s 2027 World Cup squad.
Saba Kareem calls for honest self-review
Karim feels that the defeats against Ireland and England should be a learning experience for everyone. He said the players, selectors, coaches and support staff all need to honestly analyze what went wrong and understand why India struggled so badly on the tour.
He also stressed that one of the biggest responsibilities of a head coach is to motivate the players and help them perform at their best. If this has not happened then BCCI should find out the reasons for it during the review.
The commentator also urged the team to admit mistakes, fix weak areas and do honest self-analysis to bounce back stronger after the disappointing UK tour.
Karim signed off by saying, “That’s what’s expected. But if it hasn’t happened, that’s why. I mean, that’s why BCCI needs to find the reason for what went wrong.”