Shreyas Iyer and Tilak Varma, the captain and vice-captain of the Indian T20I team, respectively, shouldn’t have guaranteed spots in the playing XI, Mohammad Kaif has stated on his YouTube channel. He said that despite not having a very good T20I record in recent times, both were handed leadership roles.
He pointed out that although Tilak is a 50-50 choice in India XI and has recently won games for India, his and Shreyas Iyer's leadership positions have rendered them undroppable, which led to Sanju Samson's exclusion following the first T20I against England.
"You have made two players the captain and vice-captain, who probably don't even deserve a guaranteed place in the playing XI every match. Yes, Tilak is a 50-50 call. He has won matches and played well. I'm not denying that. But the problem is that you no longer have any flexibility. Once you make them captain and vice-captain, they are automatically undroppable. And because of that, you're ending up dropping Sanju," Kaif said on his YouTube channel.
Speaking further about Samson's rejection, Kaif pointed out that if Iyer hadn't been captain, the team's management might have informed him that although he had earned a spot in the squad, he wasn't in the playing XI. He went on to say that Samson, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, and Abhishek Sharma ought to have been in the XI for India.
It has never happened that a player has returned to the team as captain, Kaif said, so those who appointed Iyer should be questioned.
"That's why I feel dropping Sanju was a huge decision. You could have managed the situation differently. If Shreyas Iyer hadn't been the captain, you could have told him, 'You've done well and earned your place back in the team, but right now there's no spot for you in the playing XI.
Wait for your opportunity. Stay with the squad, and we'll see how things go. First, we'll give these three players (Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, and Samson) a chance. The people who made this decision deserve to be questioned. I don't think this has ever happened in Indian cricket history, where someone who wasn't even part of the T20 team comes straight back as the captain. I don't think that's ever happened before," he added.
Kaif further added that BCCI selectors and team management probably realise now they’ve taken a huge gamble by bringing in Shreyas Iyer into the India T20I team and making him captain by replacing T20 World Cup-winning skipper Suryakumar Yadav.
Kaif clarified that he’s not blaming Iyer but questioning the decision-makers.
“You made Shreyas Iyer the captain. But the way I see it, here's a player who wasn't even part of the T20 World Cup squad. Forget the World Cup; he wasn't even in the T20 team. Now they must be realising that maybe they made a big call. First of all, he wasn't even on the team. Then he comes straight back into the side as the captain. And not just any team, the team that has already become world champions.
Whose place is he taking? He's replacing a World Cup-winning captain. So, you can understand the magnitude of that decision. I'm not blaming Iyer here. I'm questioning the people who made the decision to appoint him as captain. They should also be asked a couple of questions,” he added.
Shreyas Iyer has scored 1,227 runs in 52 innings at an average of 29.92 and a strike rate of 136.63, including nine half-centuries.
