Former Indian opener Kris Srikkanth has questioned the team’s think tank for their handling of Sanju Samson and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi amid the T20I series against the West Indies. Both Samson and Sooryavanshi have been in and out of the team in the recent past.
While Sooryavanshi played three games against England, Samson played two. Sooryavanshi then played all three games against Zimbabwe as Samson was rested for the tour. Against Afghanistan, Samson played ahead of Sooryavanshi and scored two fifties in three games.
In the two matches of the Asian Games, Samson and Sooryavanshi played together in the final XI. But Samson opened against the West Indies on Tuesday, whereas Sooryavanshi was left out. Srikkanth reckons this has created confusion among the two batters.
Kris Srikkanth said on his YouTube Channel, “They’ve created confusion by playing both here and there. They’ve made a mistake. They should have told all three openers beforehand that each one would be equally rotated. India are also mostly playing the easier teams. Finally, they’ll go to New Zealand next, which will be tough.”
“That’s going to be a good test even for Vaibhav Suryavanshi. It’s going to be an important series for him. So it would be better if he goes in with some runs to New Zealand. But the way they are grooming Suryavanshi is very faulty. Likewise, the way they are giving confidence to Samson is also faulty. Now, they’ve spoiled the confidence of these two boys completely.”
On the other hand, the 1983 World Cup-winning player noted that Mayank Yadav looked out of rhythm in his spell of 1-40 in his four overs. He questioned the coaches for changing Yadav’s bowling action and leaving him confused.
“He’s a brilliant bowler, but I feel for him. He’s a natural whose fluidity should not be changed. But they’ve changed his action and left him confused. Instead, he should have been allowed to play his natural game. His action has changed because of the back injuries. But his line and rhythm are spoilt now. It’s not good that his natural bowling action has changed,” said Srikkanth (via the aforementioned source).
“When he first burst into the scenes, he used to bowl express speed with searing bounce. The only good thing is Shreyas Iyer handled him very well. Though he got smashed in his first over, Iyer brought him back at the right times, when the West Indies were down. But it’s good that Mayank Yadav is picked for New Zealand, as confidence is very important for a player.”
The second T20I between India and the West Indies will be played at Ranchi on Friday.
