Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif believes India is repeating the same error it made in the early stages of the 2026 T20 World Cup. The Men in Blue started with two left-handers, Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan.

As opponents figured out how to bowl off-spinners against left-handers and the batters struggled, India made a change and brought in a right-hander in the form of Sanju Samson. Kaif believed that launching with Abhishek and Vaibhav Suryavanshi would not be a good long-term option.

"India is making the same mistake that they did in the World Cup. Ishan and Abhishek were opening. They got an off-spinner, and they started getting out. Until they did not get a big defeat, Sanju was not playing. Here as well, when you lost to Ireland, you made changes. One right-hander and one left-hander are the right way to go, which we saw in the World Cup.

We were struggling against off-spinners. But with Sanju coming in, that got solved. You are making the same mistake here. Abhishek and Vaibhav cannot be your long-term openers. You need to have a right-hander at the top," Kaif said on his YouTube channel.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi made his much-awaited India debut in T20Is in the Manchester game, after Sanju Samson failed to score in three T20Is, two against Ireland and the first T20I against England in Durham.

Kaif noted that a few bad innings did not render Samson a bad player. Returning to the point that two left-handers opening was not tactically appropriate, he stated that Abhishek or Suryavanshi would have to bat at number three with Samson opening.

"Sanju may have gotten 2-3 bad innings, but that is how he plays. Look at his career. He counters it and can make a big hundred. When he scores, he scores big. There was pressure with Vaibhav sitting out, and they made that change. But two left-handers cannot be your openers tactically. You will have to bring Sanju in.

Either Abhishek or Vaibhav can play at three. There is no other choice. You will have to think long-term here. You don't want a situation where we don't know where someone will play or the player does not know whether he will play or not, and there is no role clarity," he expressed.

Additionally, Mohammad Kaif emphasized a crucial area that he thought Shreyas Iyer, the captain of India, needed to improve.

He hasn't won any of his four matches as T20I captain thus far. The confidence would have undoubtedly suffered, according to Kaif.

"It has been a very bad start. Everyone is shocked. It was a full-fledged team that played. His sample size as a captain is a bit small still. The confidence will be down when you don't win as a captain. Surely, he will have a doubt in his mind," he said.

Kaif commented that the most difficult thing would be to win games with bowling. Kaif said that Iyer would need to learn how to use his bowlers effectively and be more assertive.

"But the biggest challenge for him will be winning games with his bowlers. The one good thing he did was use Axar Patel well. But the problem is how he will use the other bowlers. He will have to learn to work with his bowlers. He has not started well, but I want to see what he does with the bowlers and how proactive he is in the games to come," Kaif concluded.

India and England will clash in the third T20I in Nottingham on July 7.