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Former India captain Kris Srikkanth slammed T20I captain Shreyas Iyer and the Indian team management over the way teenage batter Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was handled during the recently concluded T20I series against England.
Srikkanth was particularly unhappy with Iyer’s explanation for dropping the 15-year-old from the playing XI for the fifth and final T20I in Southampton. India lost the match by 56 runs, completing a 4-0 series defeat.
At the toss, Iyer had explained the team selection by saying:
“I feel this is the time we need to try what’s the best going forward for us as a team. So based on that, we decided this.”
The move, however, did not work in India’s favour. England piled up 257 runs, thanks to captain Jos Buttler’s brilliant 131. Chasing a huge target, Sanju Samson, who returned to the side after missing the previous three matches, scored 27 off 14 balls but could not convert his start into a big innings.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Srikkanth said he was disappointed with both the decision and the reasoning behind it.
“I was so upset with the interview after the toss,” Srikkanth said.
“This is not the way to talk. How you are treating your players, how you are forming a young team is important. If this is the way forward, the way forward is to change everybody (leadership group). He said we want to take the best way forward. If you are willing to drop players based on their performance, the same yardstick should apply to Gautam Gambhir, the same yardstick should apply to the captain also. You are saying the players are not performing, what has been your performance?
“What wrong did Vaibhav Sooryavanshi do? Is this how you groom young players?”
Srikkanth Compares Vaibhav’s Situation To Sachin Tendulkar’s Debut
Sooryavanshi earned his India call-up after a sensational IPL 2026 season with Rajasthan Royals, where he became the youngest player to win the Orange Cap after scoring 776 runs.
The teenager made his international debut in Manchester and played three matches in the series. Although he showed glimpses of his talent, he managed scores of 14, 13 and 15, with England fast bowler Jofra Archer dismissing him twice.
Srikkanth believes the youngster deserved a longer run instead of being dropped after just three games. He recalled how he had backed a 16-year-old Sachin Tendulkar when the batting legend made his Test debut in Pakistan in 1989.
“Shreyas Iyer said at the toss ‘we want to get back to the best way possible’. Is this your best way forward? What is this interview? If you thought Sanju Samson was the best fit, then you should have continued with him. Why bring in Vaibhav and then drop him? Why spoil his future? You are all ruining his confidence. When Sachin Tendulkar made his debut at 16, i went up and told him ‘you won’t be dropped in this tour. You play fearlessly’.
“Should Gambhir and Shreyas not give Sooryavanshi that kind of confidence? It’s not fair. I am very upset with the way they are treating Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.”
India’s Selection Calls Under Scrutiny
India’s tour of the United Kingdom turned into a disappointing one. The team first lost the two-match T20I series against Ireland 2-0 before suffering a 4-0 defeat against England.
The constant changes at the top of the batting order attracted criticism throughout the tour. Sanju Samson, who was India’s Player of the Tournament in the 2026 T20 World Cup, was dropped after three matches despite a successful World Cup campaign. Sooryavanshi was then brought into the side but was left out again after just three innings.
The uncertainty has continued ahead of India’s upcoming T20I series against Zimbabwe. Samson has been left out of the squad completely, with Prabhsimran Singh named as the reserve wicketkeeper.