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Former Indian batter Mohammad Kaif has openly slammed the national selectors after Sanju Samson's shocking omission from the T20I team. Kaif believes that the biggest mistake was making Shreyas Iyer the captain and Tilak Varma the vice-captain, as that decision has made it very tough for the team management to make changes in the playing XI.
His comments came after India’s 125-run defeat in the third T20I against England, even after dropping Samson because of his three poor outings. Later, the Kerala star was overlooked for the upcoming three-match T20I series against Zimbabwe. This sparked massive debate among the cricket fraternity.
Mohammad Kaif says making Shreyas Iyer captain and Tilak Varma vice-captain was India's biggest mistake
Mohammad Kaif said that Shreyas Iyer and Tilak Varma did not have a fixed place in India's T20I playing XI before they were given leadership roles. He admitted that Tilak has played some good innings for India but still believes his place in the playing XI was not guaranteed.
He boldly opined that making Iyer captain and Tilak vice-captain was a big blunder, as these decisions left the Indian cricket team management with very few options while selecting the playing XI, and Sanju Samson has become the biggest victim of this selection strategy.
Mohammad Kaif said on his YouTube channel, "You have made two players the captain and vice-captain, who probably don't even deserve a guaranteed place in the playing XI every match. Yes, Tilak is a 50-50 call. He has won matches and played well."
"I'm not denying that. But the problem is that you no longer have any flexibility. Once you make them captain and vice-captain, they are automatically undroppable. And because of that, you're ending up dropping Sanju."
Mohammad Kaif questions Shreyas Iyer's captaincy return
Kaif also questioned the decision to bring Shreyas Iyer straight back into the T20I team as captain. The former India batter feels the team management could have first given more chances to Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, and Sanju Samson before making any big changes.
He added, “That's why I feel dropping Sanju was a huge decision. You could have managed the situation differently. If Shreyas Iyer hadn't been the captain, you could have told him, 'You've done well and earned your place back in the team, but right now there's no spot for you in the playing XI.” Amid this, MSK Prasad breaks silence on Sanju Samson's omission from Zimbabwe tour.
Mohammad Kaif demands answers after Sanju Samson pays price for India's leadership gamble
Notably, Iyer has so far amassed 110 runs in the ongoing five-match T20I series against England, while Tilak has managed only 40 runs so far. And the former cricketer believes that the leadership appointments made team selection more complicated and reduced the selectors' flexibility.
Kaif signed off by saying, “The people who made this decision deserve to be questioned. I don't think this has ever happened in Indian cricket history, where someone who wasn't even part of the T20 team comes straight back as the captain. I don't think that's ever happened before.”
