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Former India chief selector MSK Prasad has urged patience before judging head coach Gautam Gambhir‘s tenure, saying the T20I defeats to Ireland and England came without two of India’s most influential players, Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah.India endured a difficult tour, losing the two-match series against Ireland 2-0 before suffering a 4-0 defeat to England. Pandya missed the tour because of fitness concerns, while Bumrah was rested from T20Is.Prasad believes it would be unfair to assess Gambhir based on those results alone.“Just because the team has not done well, we cannot put the onus on head coach alone. We cannot say Gambhir has not inspired the team. At the same time, just because we won tournaments or World Cups doesn’t mean that it’s only Gambhir who has inspired the team. It is a combination of many things. It is too premature to write off Gambhir,” Prasad told PTI.He said the team’s next full-strength T20I assignment would provide a better measure of both the coach and captain.“What we have to assess is when we play the next T20I series when the whole side is there, including Bumrah and Pandya, how does this team fare? Then we can talk about who is inspiring whom, or whether the captain is able to handle it, or coach is able to handle it. So, the next T20 series is something we have to really assess.”Prasad, however, was critical of the decision to leave Sanju Samson out after a brief run of low scores, especially considering the wicketkeeper-batter’s performances during India’s successful T20 World Cup campaign.“Why the axe is always on Sanju? Dropping Sanju was a big mistake. He is the best player in English conditions. He is extremely good when the wickets are hard and have bounce.“He delivered match-winning performances in quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals of the recently won T20 World Cup. He is the player of the World Cup. And suddenly, in 2-3 matches, he doesn’t get runs and you are dropping him.”The former selector also expressed concern over the handling of teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, saying the youngster should have been introduced more gradually rather than being thrust into a high-pressure series against England.According to Prasad, Sooryavanshi’s debut created unnecessary uncertainty within the playing XI.“Sending Vaibhav to Ireland and Zimbabwe is acceptable. Because if you have to build a player, I think you should build him slowly, especially while dealing with an unbelievable talent of 15 years age.“We need to be very careful and cautious about fielding him. See, this has caused a little unrest in the playing 11, the kind of pressure that all quarters put on the coach and the captain to play Vaibhav. First couple of matches, Sanju didn’t do well. So, there was a lot of pressure. When Vaibhav didn’t do well, there was again a lot of pressure to bring back Sanju.”Prasad also questioned why Sooryavanshi was not picked for the Ireland series before being handed a debut against stronger opposition.“To start with, he should have waited with Vaibhav, letting him go through one complete season of Indian domestic cricket. He has been playing continuously, IPL then India A series, he has been on the road for quite some time.“For someone that age, it is always better to slowly bring him through the ranks. He should have, first of all, included him in the Ireland series. Not including him in the Ireland series first was a mistake,” he said.
