Following India's devastating defeat to England, batter Hanuma Vihari chastised head coach Gautam Gambhir and the team selection process. India lost the five-match T20I series 0–4.

After the first game of the T20I series was rained out, England dominated the remainder of the series. In the third game in Nottingham, India suffered its biggest loss in T20Is by 125 runs, while in the final game, England posted 257/3 in 20 overs.

Vihari made an astonishing claim, questioning the position of some players in the playing XI and claiming that Gautam Gambhir had his favorites and played them regardless of whether they contributed value to the team or not.

He singled out Shivam Dube, Suryansh Shedge, and Washington Sundar, criticizing their selection after bad performances and failing to understand their role in the Indian T20I team.

"Gautam Gambhir has certain favorite players, and he wants to take them and play them. I don't see any value in these players added to the side. I don't understand what some players are doing in the team. Dube does not bowl, cannot field, and has not shown that form in batting either. Shedge was also not impressive in bowling or batting. I have no idea why Washington Sundar is still continuing in the team. If you look at his contributions over the years, it has not been that great," Vihari said on his YouTube channel.

Dube scored just 85 runs and picked two wickets in the entire series, while Shedge and Sundar played one game each in the five-match T20I series.

Hanuma Vihari believes that the key cause for India's series defeat was the selection of the team and playing XI. He used the examples of Sanju Samson and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi to demonstrate how such approaches would cause players to feel insecure.

"Spinners were the problem, whether Varun Chakaravarthy or Axar Patel. Why was Ravi Bishnoi taken on this tour? The problem is in the squad selection and the playing XI selection. You gave Samson opportunities in Ireland and then played Suryavanshi. You also dropped him after three games. There is no security anywhere on the team. If you do not perform, you will be kicked out. You should give it a long run. If you were fixed on playing Suryavanshi, at least give him five or six games and then decide whether he is good enough or not. I don't think this is the right attitude. Security is important for players," he said.

Samson was dropped for the next three games after playing in the England T20I series opener. Sooryavanshi, who replaced him and managed 14, 13, and 15 runs, respectively, was left out for the final game, with Samson coming in.

Vihari reckoned that Samson was made the scapegoat. He batted for players to be given a fair run of chances and backing to create a secure environment.

"There was a lot of chopping and changing in this series. We have never seen this before. Even when Suryakumar Yadav led the team in the World Cup, there were only minimal changes. I feel sad for Samson as he was made the scapegoat. Suryavanshi failed in three games, so you removed him and brought Samson back. This is not right at all. For a team to be built, a player should get the right number of chances. Players will play for their place otherwise, and it will create insecurity,” he added.

India lost 6 out of 7 T20Is on their tour of Ireland and England, with one game getting rained out.