Krishnamachari Srikkanth has launched a scathing attack on India head coach Gautam Gambhir over the handling of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, questioning why the teenage opener was dropped after only three failures during the recent T20I series against England.
Srikkanth’s criticism came after Sooryavanshi produced a breathtaking response in India’s first T20I against Zimbabwe in Harare. The 15-year-old raced to his maiden international half-century in just 18 deliveries before eventually being dismissed for 50 off 19 balls, an innings that contained four fours and four sixes.
His assault helped India make light work of a 126-run target, completing a seven-wicket victory with 40 balls remaining. The innings was particularly significant given Sooryavanshi’s difficult introduction to senior international cricket. He had registered scores of 14, 13 and 15 in his first three appearances against England before being left out of the fifth T20I.
Srikkanth, however, believes India were far too quick to take the youngster out of the side and directly questioned Gambhir’s handling of one of the country’s brightest young prospects.
‘How did Gautam Gambhir foolishly drop him?’
“He has an effortless range of shots, yet, not one shot was cross-batted. This boy is really something special. How did Gautam Gambhir foolishly drop him, of all people, after three failures to crush his confidence?” Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel, Cheeky Cheeka.
Gambhir is not travelling with the Indian side for the Zimbabwe series, with VVS Laxman taking charge of the team for the three-match assignment. Srikkanth also highlighted the work Sooryavanshi put in following his difficult England tour, revealing that the youngster headed straight to the Rajasthan Royals camp instead of returning home.
“I salute Vaibhav for his dedication. After the England series, he didn’t go home and instead went straight to the Rajasthan Royals camp. He has been working on his batting against the short ball because he wants to prove to the whole world that he is special,” Srikkanth said.
What particularly impressed the former India captain was Sooryavanshi’s refusal to abandon the ultra-aggressive approach that has accelerated his rise despite the failures in England.
“The ease at which he scores at a 250 strike rate is extraordinary. Normally, after three failures, other players would have tried to safeguard their place in the Indian team by taking singles and twos. But he played fearlessly without worrying about the consequences. Scoring a 50 off 18 balls has become child’s play for him. That’s his greatness,” Srikkanth added.
Sooryavanshi‘s Harare blitz made him the youngest batter to score a half-century in international cricket and provided an emphatic answer after a difficult opening three innings at the senior level. More importantly, he did so without retreating from the fearless batting style that had first propelled him into the India side.
