India head coach Gautam Gambhir speaks about Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s selection and limited opportunities in the New Zealand T20I series.
Share Article
https://www.india.com/sports/cricket/gautam-gambhir-breaks-silence-on-vaibhav-sooryavanshis-exclusion-says-my-job-is-not-to-make-everyone-happy-8541383/
Gautam Gambhir breaks silence on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s exclusion (Photo: X)
Gautam Gambhir on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi: India head coach Gautam Gambhir has given a blunt reply amid the debate over young batter Vaibhav Sooryavanshi not getting enough chances in Team IndiaGambhir said his job is not to make everyone happy, but to take the right decisions for the team.
The debate started during the five-match T20I series against New Zealand15-year-old teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi played only two matches in the series despite doing wellHe scored 4 runs in the second T20I and then smashed 45 runs off just 19 balls in the third T20I in Wellington, which helped India win the match by 6 wickets.
But after Ishan Kishan returned from injury, Sooryavanshi was dropped from the playing XIHe did not play in the 4th T20I in Auckland and was also left out of the 5th and final T20I in Hamilton on SundayFans on social media questioned this decision, especially after India had already won the series 3-0.
Gambhir says right decisions more important than popular decisions
Speaking to the broadcasters ahead of the 5th T20I at Seddon Park, Hamilton, Gautam Gambhir made it clear that he will not take decisions based on social media pressureHe said it is easy to take popular decisions, but his job is to take right decisions and give security to the dressing room.
“First of all, my job is not to make everyone happyMy job is to take the right decisions, not the popular decisionsAnd that is what I’m there for,” Gambhir told the broadcasters ahead of the fifth T20I against New Zealand on Sunday.
Gambhir also spoke about how social media chatter makes it easy to take popular decisions, but team interest comes first.
“I think sometimes in today’s day and age with so much of social media and all that chatter, what happens on the outsideNo, it is very easy to take the popular decisionBut for me, I think the important thing is to take the right decision and make sure that there is a lot of security inside the dressing roomBecause as you just mentioned that there’s a lot of talentBut again, I think guys have done phenomenally well over a longer period of timeObviously deserves a longer ropeAnd that is exactly how we approach the series,” Gambhir said.
Why Sooryavanshi is not getting chances
Gautam Gambhir said that players who have done well over a longer period deserve a longer ropeHe pointed towards openers Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson, who have performed consistently and played key roles in India defending their T20 World Cup title earlier this year.
Gambhir had earlier also said that Sooryavanshi will have to wait for his chancesThe young batter did not play a single game in the previous series against West IndiesIn 10 T20Is so far, he has scored 295 runs at an average of 29.50 and a strike rate of over 185 with two fifties.
Questions were also raised why Shivam Dube and Kuldeep Yadav did not get a game in the New Zealand T20I seriesBut Gambhir said there are no dead rubbers for him and every game is an opportunity to learn.
India have already won the five-match T20I series 3-2 against New Zealand after winning the first three games.
