Gautam Gambhir Called 'Foolish' Over Bizarre Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Decision

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Gautam Gambhir [Source: AFP]

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has finally got off the mark with a solid innings against Zimbabwe in the first T20I. After slamming an 18-ball half-century in his fourth T20I game, Sooryavanshi entered the record books of the Board of Control for Cricket in India as well as the team management. 

However, it was not the case during the England series. Gautam Gambhir dropped Vaibhav after he had three consecutive poor outings against England, where he failed to cross the 15-run mark. 

This decision to drop Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in the fifth and final T20I against England was largely criticised by former Indian veteran Krishnamachari Srikkanth, who was also a selector. He expressed surprise that Sooryavanshi had been ignored from the Indian side after just three failures in the tour.

Krishnamachari Srikkanth strongly criticised Gautam Gambhir for not having trust in Sooryavanshi, who was left out of the fifth T20I of the tour after scoring 14, 13, and 15 respectively. 

Srikkanth tags Gautam Gambhir 'foolish' for dropping Vaibhav Sooryavanshi

Srikkanth outright labelled Gautam Gambhir foolish and blamed him for crushing Sooryavanshi's confidence. 

"He (Sooryavanshi) 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?" said Srikkanth, speaking on his YouTube channel, as quoted by Sportskeeda.

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Interestingly, Srikkanth praised the tactical nuance of Vaibhav, who played like a professional batter instead of a slogger, while also working on his weaknesses with the bat. 

"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 added. 

Sooryavanshi bounces back after England failures

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's dismissals came at crucial junctures of the England series, where India desperately needed him to bounce back as an opener. Sooryavanshi was dismissed three times by short-pitched deliveries from pace bowlers, yet he bounced back in Zimbabwe on a difficult pitch with a solid knock.

This was evident across Sooryavanshi's stints for India A as well as Team India. He has played eight innings, scoring 223 runs inside the powerplay. In T20Is, he has faced 107 deliveries in the first six overs while averaging 44.6 and striking at 208.4, underlining his impact with the bat right from the start of the match. Srikkanth praised this ability of Sooryavanshi while appreciating his fearless approach with the bat.

Srikkanth praises Vaibhav's grit

"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 concluded.

India will again face Zimbabwe on July 25 in the second T20I, with all eyes on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi to see what wonder he can produce, as VVS Laxman is currently guiding the Men in Blue in Harare in the absence of Gautam Gambhir.

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