Former Indian cricketer and world cup hero Gautam Gambhir slammed the Indian skipper Virat Kohli and team management for dropping Suryakumar Yadav from the playing squad for the third T20I against England.
Suryakumar made his much-awaited debut for team India during the second T20I game alongwith his Mumbai Indians teammate Ishan Kishan. However, unlike Kishan, SKY didn’t get the chance to bat on his debut.
Later, while Ishan was picked in the playing XI for the 3rd T20I, SKY was dropped from the playing XI. SKY was dropped to make way for his IPL captain Rohit Sharma who was rested for the first two games. The decision to rest SKY didn’t go down well with many. Several cricketers and experts have given their opinions on this matter. And the latest one to express his disappointment is former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir.
Talking to ESPNcricinfo, Gautam Gambhir expressed his disappointment at Kohli’s decision to drop Suryakumar Yadav in the 3rd T20I. Gambhir slammed Virat Kohli and team management for the T20 World Cup preparations claim. He said:
“It amazes me, seven months before the World Cup he starts preparing for World Cup and probably after the World Cup he will start preparing for the next World Cup. It really doesn’t matter, the kind of form you are in matters. Imagine if there is an injury issue, what have you seen of Suryakumar Yadav, what have you seen of Suryakumar Yadav in international cricket. I hope nobody gets injured but if there is an injury case and somebody needs to bat at number 4 and number 5. For example, there has to be a replacement for Shreyas Iyer, who are you gonna go for,”
Gambhir urged the team-management and skipper to give SKY at least 3-4 games before taking a decision to drop him from the squad. He said:
“So at least look at someone whom you have got into the setup. Probably give him that ‘opportunity in three or four games and see where he stands. If he delivers, you have got a backup for someone already batting at number four. If you get someone play him in that series and see what he is giving in the future. We keep talking about preparations but this is just no preparation for the World Cup. It’s just about looking at the same players what you have seen for so many years,”
