Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s flop show and Gambhir’s wrong decisions, AB de Villiers opens up after the defeat in Ireland-England

New Delhi. The recent performance of the Indian T20 cricket team has surprised fans and cricket pundits. After the crushing defeats against Ireland and England, serious questions are being raised on the strategies of Team India and head coach Gautam Gambhir. Meanwhile, AB de Villiers has given a tough but practical mantra to the Indian team. De Villiers, without naming any player, has clearly said that the players who have scored mountains of runs in the IPL now need to be ‘brought back to earth’. They have to understand that international cricket is not a game to be played in ‘fifth gear’ all the time.

AB De Villiers, while talking on his YouTube channel, expressed deep concern over the recent flop show of the Indian team. He said that there is a world of difference between the level of IPL and international cricket. De Villiers said, ‘There are many things to worry about. Many fingers will be pointed at Gautam Gambhir and he will have to take responsibility for how this team will move forward. He has full capacity to do this. But perhaps this defeat is not a bad experience, but a good ‘wake-up call’. The players who scored so many runs in IPL need to be brought back to earth a bit.

He further explained that there is no place to hide in international cricket. In IPL, there are always one or two weak bowlers on whom the batsmen can easily score runs, but at the international level, every bowler of the opposing team is world class. De Villiers said, ‘You should know how to play in more than one or two gears. You can’t always bat in fifth gear. Here you have to adapt to the circumstances.

Questions raised on Gautam Gambhir and puzzle of selection
After Team India’s crushing defeat in this series, big questions have been raised on the coaching credentials of head coach Gautam Gambhir. Many of Gambhir’s decisions were sharply criticized in cricket circles. The discussion was heated mainly on these two points. Instead of giving continuous opportunities to the players in the team, a game like ‘musical chairs’ was seen. The decisions to constantly reshuffle the team between young player Vaibhav Suryavanshi and experienced Sanju Samson disturbed the balance of the team. Gambhir was also criticized for putting too much trust in players like Washington Sundar and Tilak Verma and keeping them in the team despite continuous flops. However, De Villiers believes that it is not right to hold only the coach responsible, but the players coming on the field will also have to understand their responsibilities.

Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s lackluster international debut
On this tour, everyone’s eyes were fixed on the young sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi. Vaibhav was the only Indian player to make his international debut on this tour. Fans had high expectations from Vaibhav, who scored the highest runs in IPL with 776 runs and won the title of ‘Most Valuable Player’ (MVP) at the youngest age. But his reception on the international stage was not as per expectations. He got a chance to play in three matches against England, but he could not cross the 15-run mark even once. Although he played more aggressive cricket than other batsmen of the team, due to poor performance he was dropped from the fourth match. This raised further questions on Gambhir’s selection policy as to why the best player of the IPL was dropped so soon.

‘Rohit, Virat and Bumrah do not meet overnight’
While consoling the Indian fans disappointed by the crushing defeat, De Villiers has appealed to have some patience. He reminded that the team is currently going through a major change. It is impossible to immediately fill the void of legends like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, who have retired from T20 International cricket in the year 2024. Additionally, the workload of a world-class bowler like Jasprit Bumrah is managed in bilateral series, making the bowling attack look inexperienced.

De Villiers said, ‘It was very difficult to see India lose 4-0, I did not expect this. But considering the lack of experience, this was not completely unexpected. In such times, leadership becomes even more important. You will have to have some patience regarding the formation of this team. You cannot get a new Bumrah, Virat or Rohit overnight. It takes time. However, the Indian team could have played better, and I felt that at times they did not have a clear game plan.