Gautam Gambhir called ‘stupid’ after former India selector Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s explosive verdict

Gautam Gambhir and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (Image Agency) Vaibhav Sooryavanshi made his international debut in spectacular fashion during India’s first T20I against Zimbabwe on Thursday, becoming the youngest player ever to score a maiden T20I half-century.The 15-year-old became the youngest player to score a maiden T20I half-century after racing to an 18-ball fifty in Harare. It was a timely response from the teenage batsman, who scored 14, 13 and 15 in his first three appearances for India during the T20I series against England. After these outings, Sooryavanshi was left out of the playing XI for the fifth and final T20I. His exclusion came amid intense scrutiny of India’s selection decisions. Earlier in the England series, Sanju Samson, who was India’s player of the tournament during their T20 World Cup winning campaign, was dropped from the side and Sooryavanshi was brought into the playing XI. However, for the fifth match, the management reversed course, reinstated Samson and left the youngster out. Samson was subsequently left out of the Indian squad for the tour of Zimbabwe. Former India captain and ex-BCCI selector Krishnamachari Srikkanth admitted he was baffled by the decision to drop Sooryavanshi after just three failures and took aim at head coach Gautam Gambhir for the move. “He (Sooryavanshi) has an effortless range of shots but not a single one has gone through. The boy is truly something special. How did Gautam Gambhir of all people stupidly drop him after three misses to crush his confidence?” Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel as quoted by Sportskeeda. With Gambhir not accompanying the team on the Zimbabwe tour, former India batsman VVS Laxman is serving as the side’s interim head coach. Srikkanth also highlighted the youngster’s drive to improve and revealed that Sooryavanshi immediately went back to work after the England series rather than taking a break. “I salute Vaibhav for his dedication. He didn’t come home after the England series and instead went straight to the Rajasthan Royals camp. He worked on batting against the short ball as he wants to prove to the world that he is special,” added Srikkanth. The 1983 World Cup winner was equally impressed by Sooryavanshi’s fearless approach despite the pressure to retain his place in the national team. According to Srikkanth, many young players would have opted for a safer route after a string of low scores, but the teenager remained committed to his attacking game. “The ease with which he is scoring 250 at a strike rate is extraordinary. Normally, after three failures, other players would have tried to secure their place in the Indian team by taking singles and twos. But he played fearlessly without worrying about the consequences. Scoring 50 in 18 balls became child’s play for him. That is his greatness,” explained Srikkanth.Sooryavanshi’s explosive innings not only earned him a place in the record books but also cemented his status as one of India’s most exciting young batting talents. Srikkanth’s comments also highlighted the selection dilemmas and questions about the team mix that India continue to face.