Sanjay Manjrekar backs Gautam Gambhir and Shreyas Iyer after India’s poor T20I campaign

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India’s recent T20I tour of Ireland and England has sparked widespread debate after the team endured a difficult run of results. Consecutive series defeats have put the spotlight on several aspects of the team’s approach, with questions being raised over the leadership, squad selection and overall preparation for overseas conditions.

The disappointing campaign has naturally led to criticism of captain Shreyas Iyer and head coach Gautam Gambhir. However, former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar believes the focus should not be on making immediate changes at the top. Instead, he has urged the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to identify the real reasons behind the team’s struggles before taking any major decisions.

Speaking in a video shared on his Instagram account, Manjrekar said removing Gambhir and Iyer, or a few underperforming players, would be the easiest response to India’s poor T20I campaign, but not necessarily the correct one. According to Manjrekar, the BCCI should instead analyse why India failed to adapt to the conditions in Ireland and England. He pointed out that the squad was largely selected based on performances in the Indian Premier League (IPL), where batting conditions are significantly more favourable than those encountered overseas.

“The easiest thing to do for India would be to sack Gautam Gambhir, sack the captain, sack some of the players who didn’t perform well in Ireland and England. That would be the easy thing to do.”

The former India batter explained that players who thrive on flat IPL pitches may not always enjoy the same success when confronted with movement, seam and variable bounce in countries like England and Ireland. He stressed that selectors need to identify players capable of consistently performing across different conditions.

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Manjrekar also expressed concern over the increasingly batting-friendly nature of IPL pitches, claiming they make it difficult to accurately assess a batter’s ability in more demanding environments. He argued that the surfaces used in the tournament often flatter batters and can create a misleading picture of their readiness for international cricket. As a result, he believes selectors should look beyond IPL numbers while building squads for overseas assignments.

The former cricketer even suggested that the people responsible for promoting excessively batter-friendly conditions in the IPL should be held accountable instead of placing the blame solely on the captain or head coach. In his view, addressing the underlying issues in player assessment and preparation will be far more beneficial than making reactionary changes to the leadership group after one disappointing tour.

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