​NEW DELHI: Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has slammed the team’s approach following India’s 0-4 hammering in the five-match T20I series against England, arguing that simply removing head coach Gautam Gambhir, captain Shreyas Iyer, or a handful of players would be the “easiest” course of action but would not address the real issues at hand. The tour proved disastrous for the reigning T20 World Cup champions, who did not manage to win a single match across Ireland and England, with the England series extending their winless streak after the opening game was washed out.
In a video posted on Instagram, Manjrekar contended that changing the coach, captain, or individuals would fail to tackle the deeper factors behind India’s struggles. “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,” he stated.
Shreyas Iyer, who assumed the T20I captaincy from Suryakumar Yadav after India’s World Cup triumph, has faced a challenging start. Under his leadership, India have lost six of seven T20Is, with one match abandoned due to rain. The heavy defeat also cost India their No. 1 ranking in the ICC Men’s T20I rankings, which England reclaimed.
Manjrekar asserted that India’s poor performances stemmed from a lack of preparation for overseas conditions. “The right thing to do would be to identify the main reason for India’s setback. And the main reason is that these T20 matches were played in overseas conditions—Ireland and England,” he explained.
He argued that players were predominantly chosen on the basis of their IPL performances. “Our batters and our team were poorly prepared for these conditions. Why? Because the selectors actually picked all these players based on their IPL performances,” he asserted.
Manjrekar criticized the batting-centric IPL environment, saying it creates a misleading impression of a player’s true ability in tougher conditions. “The IPL puts on a very heavy makeup on Indian batsmen; the batting conditions in the IPL are the easiest I’ve ever seen. And that is why it flatters to deceive. That’s why you see so many top-order batsmen doing the crazy things they do,” he observed. He warned that successes in the IPL do not always translate to success overseas.
“Then you don’t really know which player will excel when there is something for the bowlers. It isn’t as simple as batting on a marble sheet as it is in the IPL. That is where the selectors must be smart and pick people like Shubman Gill, who can succeed in Ireland, England, and everywhere as a T20 batter,” Manjrekar continued.
Rather than focusing on personnel changes, Manjrekar urged accountability for those who crafted the batting-friendly conditions in the IPL. He urged a deeper investigation into the architects of such conditions, arguing for accountability and potentially removing those who have been advising the BCCI that batting-friendly setups would enhance the IPL’s popularity and commercial appeal. “Let’s go deeper and actually sack those who’ve been advising the BCCI that batting-friendly conditions will make the IPL more popular and more commercially viable. Let’s have more fours and sixes,” he concluded, emphasizing the need for a more strategic, condition-led approach rather than quick-fix personnel changes.