''Gautam Gambhir has certain favourite players' - Hanuma Vihari alleges cronyism in Indian team post 4-0 loss to England

Former Indian batter Hanuma Vihari has lambasted the Indian team management and head coach Gautam Gambhir for their team selections after their 4-0 hammering at the hands of England in the recently concluded five-match T20I series.

Vihari has questioned the coach for persisting with players like Shivam Dube and Washington Sundar for what they offer to the team and harshly accused the coach of showing favouritism.

"Gautam Gambhir has certain favourite 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 in a video on his YouTube channel.

The young southpaw Vaibhav Sooryavanshi made his much-awaited debut in the second T20I in place of T20 World Cup 2026 hero Sanju Samson. Soooryavanshi's run in the team lasted just three games, after which he was once again dropped for Samson in the final match. Vihari questioned the management about their handling of the 15-year-old at such an early stage in his career.

“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 Sooryavanshi. You dropped him also after three games.

"There is no security anywhere in 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 Sooryavanshi, 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,” Vihari added.

Vihari further accused the team of constant changes to the XI, which affected the consistency. Vihari alluded to the team that lifted the T20 World Cup earlier in the year under Suryakumar Yadav, saying that the players deserve the right amount of chances, with players playing for their places if given fewer chances.

“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 amount of chances. Players will play for their place otherwise, and it will create insecurity,” said Vihari.

The Indian team slipped from the top of the ICC T20I rankings after the loss for the first time in a four-year span.