India recently lost the Ireland T20Is by 0-2 and England T20I sreries 0-4.
Former India cricketer Dinesh Karthik has shown concern about developing friction between chief selector Ajit Agarkar and head coach Gautam Gambhir, and how the confusion due to the conflict is affecting the Indian team dressing room.
He clarified that although Gambhir "wants to win every game," Agarkar has "long-term plans" for the squad, which is causing "confusion" in team selection and player unease regarding their places.
India's consecutive series losses to England and Ireland demonstrated this alleged uncertainty. India fielded their best combination in Ireland, a series where changes were anticipated, but lost 0-2 despite adding rookies like Vaibhav Sooryavanshi to the squad.
On the other hand, Sooryavanshi made his debut against England in the second game of the five-match series before being benched for the fifth.
“A bit of friction between the chief selector, I feel, who has long-term plans, and a current coach who is saying, you know, I want to win every game that I play, and hence the confusion that we can see unfold in front of us.
Is it ideal for the players? Definitely not. I mean, if you’re from India, imagine the kind of bench strength India has. Everybody’s thinking, ‘Oh my God, if I have a couple of bad games, anybody could replace me.’ … It’s definitely a situation that India needs to be aware of and try to rectify as soon as possible,” Karthik said on Sky Sports.
Even former India cricketers like Mohammad Kaif and R Ashwin have shown concern about ‘insecurity’ surrounding the team. Both of them stated that a tour where India was to get solutions to their problems ended up with both Sanju Samson and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi being short of confidence, as they didn’t get enough opportunities to cement their places.