India Management "Has Spoiled Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's Confidence": World Cup Winner Explains Where Gautam Gambhir And Co. Went Wrong

The Indian T20I team is currently abundant with talent in the top order. Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan are all star openers for their respective sides in the IPL. While Abhishek Sharma has been getting a consistent run, there has been a toss-up between Sooryavanshi and Samson since Vaibhav Sooryavanshi emerged on the scene. Sooryavanshi was first picked for the tours of Ireland and England in June-July. Samson played against Ireland and then in the first T20I against England. He scored 5, 0 and 1 in those matches. Sooryavanshi was then handed his T20I debut in the second match. He played three matches and scored 14, 13 and 15.

Samson made a comeback in the fifth T20I against England, where he scored 27, but was rested for the subsequent tour of Zimbabwe. On this tour, Sooryavanshi scored 50, 20 and 81.

1983 World Cup winner Krishnamachari Srikkanth feels that the constant chopping and changing by the team management has affected the players' confidence.

"They have not only spoiled his (Sanju Samson's) confidence, India have totally spoiled Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's confidence. He could have been given three matches against a team like the West Indies. Now that they've seen Abhishek for so long, he can be rested, and Sooryavanshi and Samson can open in the next match," Srikkanth said in a YouTube video.

He went on to question Samson's consistency. The opener played three fine innings in India's 2026 T20 World Cup win, including the final, but his form has tapered off since then.

"Samson has always been up and down. His consistency has always been questionable. He'll suddenly do wonders like the World Cup and then suddenly fail a lot. Someone like Abhishek Sharma never has such extremes. Now, again, Samson will score in the next match," Srikkanth said.

Featured Video Of The Day

India Ends CWG Boxing Campaign With Record-Breaking Seven Gold Medals