India's decision to leave teenage batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi out of the playing XI for the first T20I against Afghanistan has raised eyebrows,
with former India batter Mohammad Kaif questioning the logic behind the selection call.
Sooryavanshi had been one of India's standout performers on their recent tour of Zimbabwe, where he was named Player of the Series after India's 3-0 T20I series sweep. However, with Sanju Samson returning to the XI, the 15-year-old was left on the bench for the series opener at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.
Kaif questioned why Samson was preferred despite not having played competitive cricket between his exclusion from the Zimbabwe tour and the Afghanistan series.
"What did Sanju do in between to get a chance today? Usually, when you are dropped, you play here and there and regain some form; nothing like that has happened. Why did he get a chance? That is a massive question? Why didn't you go with the same combination after Vaibhav scored runs in Zimbabwe, that is another question," Kaif said on Cricbuzz.
The former cricketer believes India's selection has highlighted uncertainty over the team's preferred opening combination. With Samson, Sooryavanshi and Abhishek Sharma competing for two opening spots, Kaif feels the management has yet to settle on its ideal combination.
"In my opinion, they are hesitating a bit; they are unsure of what their best opening combination is. The Indian team are still thinking about it. Vaibhav must be saying what did I do wrong? So this is a state of confusion going on, there is no doubt about it," he added.
India ultimately began the Afghanistan series with a seven-wicket victory, restricting Afghanistan to 156/8 before Abhishek Sharma's explosive 82 off 32 balls powered the hosts to victory in just 13.4 overs.
