Former India batter Mohammad Kaif wasn’t pleased with Sanju Samson starting in the playing XI for the series opener against Afghanistan, and questioned the team management for leaving out Vaibhav Sooryavanshi despite his Player of the Series win in the previous assignment against Zimbabwe. The right-handed Samson opened the batting alongside Abhishek Sharma in the first T20I against Afghanistan on Sunday, where he lasted just eight balls in the middle, scoring 10 runs.
The age-old problem of Samson’s inconsistency was once again at the forefront, and questions continue to mount over his inclusion in the Team ahead of Sooryavanshi, despite the latter scoring 151 runs in the three-match series against Zimbabwe in July.
Speaking on Cricbuzz, Kaif questioned what Samson did in the last two months to warrant a place ahead of the 15-year-old in the playing XI. It is worth noting that Samson was rested for the tour of Zimbabwe; hence, Sooryavanshi opened the batting alongside Abhishek and returned with scores of 50, 20, and 81.
“What did Sanju do in between to get a chance today? Usually, when you are dropped, you play here and there and regain some form; nothing like that has happened,” Kaif said while speaking on Cricbuzz.
“Why did he get a chance? That’s a massive question. Why did you not go with the same combination after Vaibhav scored runs in Zimbabwe? That’s another question,” he added.
‘Hesitation’
The former India batter Kaif also claimed that the current management, headed by skipper Shreyas Iyer and head coach Gautam Gambhir, is hesitating to narrow down the opening combination.
Kaif added that Sooryavanshi must be thinking about what he did wrong in the last few days to be given this treatment.
“In my opinion, they are hesitating a bit; they are unsure of what their best opening combination is. The Indian team are still thinking about it. Vaibhav must be saying What did I do wrong?” Kaif added.
Speaking of Samson, he played the first two T20Is against Ireland and the series opener against England, but three low scores were all it took for the T20 World Cup 2026 Player of the Tournament to be dropped. Sooryavanshi then came into the lineup, becoming the youngest-ever debutant for India.
However, Sooryavanshi also failed in his first three outings in international cricket, paving the way for Samson to return to the XI for the final T20I against England. However, the inclusion didn’t yield any substantial results as the right-hander was then rested from the squad for the Zimbabwe series.
