Former India batter Wasim Jaffer believes the current team management, headed by coach Gautam Gambhir, erred in judgment when it came to picking Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in the playing XI. Jaffer said that the think tank rushed into giving the 15-year-old a debut, which should not have been done, and Sanju Samson should have been persisted with. The entire world expected Sooryavanshi to make his debut in Ireland, but that wasn’t to be. It took three failures for Samson to be dropped, and Sooryavanshi finally got a look in for the contest against England.
However, Sooryavanshi failed to set the stage on fire in the three T20Is he played and hence was dropped for the final game in Southampton, where Samson regained his place.
Jaffer said that Samson should have been given a long rope as he was the Player of the Tournament in the T20 World Cup win.
“I think we rushed Vaibhav’s inclusion. There was a lot of media hype around him, and the public was very emotional about seeing him play. Otherwise, I had already said that India should have continued with Sanju Samson,” Jaffer said on his YouTube channel. “
“Vaibhav had to wait for his opportunity, and when that opportunity came, he could have taken it. He’s still very young, and he can learn a lot just by being around the team and watching cricket from the outside,” he added.
‘Carried away’
Jaffer also claimed that the Indian management got carried away by the media hype around Sooryavanshi. India, under Shreyas Iyer, lost both series against England and Ireland, and the pressure is now truly mounting on Gambhir.
The former Indian batter also questioned Samson’s omission from the squad for the series against Zimbabwe. The selectors have not confirmed whether the batter has been rested or dropped.
“It felt like we got carried away by the media hype. Every time Vaibhav didn’t play, there was a lot of discussion about it. I just thought he should have been made to wait. If you were absolutely convinced that Sanju wasn’t in good form or wasn’t playing well, then you could have taken that decision. But eventually, it felt like you rushed Vaibhav into the team,” he said.
“Then, after giving him three matches, you brought Sanju back. Sanju himself played only one match, and now he’s been left out of the Zimbabwe tour. Dropping him from the Zimbabwe tour also seemed a bit strange to me because I’m sure he would have wanted to play,” Jaffer said.
Jaffer also believes that Samson should be given a longer rope in T20Is, as it is the only format he plays for Team India.
“As it is, he only plays one format for India. He should be given regular opportunities. I’m sure Sanju Samson will be part of the plans for the next World Cup because he’s a match-winner. The way things unfolded really surprised me,” he added.
