Shreyas Iyer Blasted For Questioning Vaibhav Sooryavanshi: 'What's Your Performance?'

Shreyas Iyer Blasted For Questioning Vaibhav Sooryavanshi: 'What's Your Performance?'

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Last Updated: July 13, 2026, 16:31 IST

Kris Srikkanth says if Vaibhav Sooryavanshi can be dropped purely on 'performance' then the same yardstick should apply on Gautam Gambhir and Shreyas Iyer after the 6-0 in the UK.

Shreyas Iyer and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.

Kris Srikkanth has launched a scathing attack on India’s leadership group, questioning captain Shreyas Iyer and head coach Gautam Gambhir over their handling of players during the disastrous T20I tour of Ireland and England. The former captain and selector said that if ‘performance’ was the basis of the team changes on the tour, then ‘the same yardstick’ was applicable to Iyer and Gambhir.

India ended the tour without a single series win, losing 0-2 to Ireland and suffering a 4-0 defeat against England, with the series’ second match washed out. Despite the rubbers being portrayed as India’s time to ‘experiment’ and build a team towards the 2028 T20 World Cup, it left them with more questions than answers, especially on the prodigious Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s place in the set-up.

Sooryavanshi became the youngest to play for India in the second T20I against England, and was dropped after three low scores in the fifth match. Shreyas at the toss said the decision was based on doing ‘what’s best going forward for us as a team’.

“I was so upset with the interview after the toss," Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel. “This is not the way to talk. How you treat your players and how you build a young team is important. If this is the way forward, then the way forward is to change everybody. If you’re willing to drop players based on performances, the same yardstick should apply to Gautam Gambhir and the captain as well. You are saying the players are not performing. What has been your performance?"

Srikkanth also questioned the management’s constant switching between Samson and Sooryavanshi, asking why the Kerala star was dropped if he was a part of the best combination.

“Shreyas said they wanted to do what’s best going forward. If Sanju Samson was your best option, then you should have continued with him. Why bring in Vaibhav and then drop him? What wrong did Vaibhav Sooryavanshi do? Is this how you groom young players?"

After the series, Shreyas also cited having too many left-handers in the team as one of the reasons behind Sooryavanshi’s snub.

‘I told Tendulkar he wouldn’t be dropped’

Further, Srikkanth recalled India’s handling of Sachin Tendulkar during his debut tour and how Sooryavanshi deserved the same.

“When Sachin Tendulkar made his debut at 16, I told him he wouldn’t be dropped on that tour and to play fearlessly. Gambhir and Shreyas should have given Vaibhav that kind of confidence. It’s not fair. I am very upset with the way they are treating Vaibhav Sooryavanshi."

Sooryavanshi is still part of India’s tour of Zimbabwe and the Asian Games squad.

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First Published: July 13, 2026, 16:31 IST

News cricket Shreyas Iyer Blasted For Questioning Vaibhav Sooryavanshi: 'What's Your Performance?'

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