Former Indian opener Sadagoppan Ramesh has publicly criticized the national team management for their inconsistent selection policies following the recent T20I series against Zimbabwe. Ramesh pointed to the contrasting treatment of veteran players versus younger talent as a major concern, specifically citing the persistence with Abhishek Sharma despite his struggles.
The criticism stems from a perceived disparity in how performance is evaluated based on age. According to Ramesh, the management appears to grant significant leeway to players under 25, while veterans aged 35 and older are often sidelined after a single failure. Ramesh noted that despite being the world's top-ranked batter entering the T20 World Cup, Abhishek Sharma has struggled significantly, averaging only 18 across 18 innings with just three half-centuries. In broader T20I play this year, Sharma has averaged 23.36 across 23 matches, including six ducks, and has averaged under seven in his last six innings, featuring four consecutive single-digit scores.
In contrast, Ramesh highlighted the treatment of Sanju Samson, the 2026 T20 World Cup Player of the Tournament, who was dropped from the playing XI after failing in three matches during the England series and subsequently excluded from the Zimbabwe tour squad. Similarly, he pointed to the immense pressure on 39-year-old Rohit Sharma, who faced potential exclusion after failing in the first two ODIs against England, only to secure his spot with a 138-run knock in the series decider at Lord's.
Ramesh argued that such selection parameters are fundamentally flawed, suggesting that age, rather than form, has become a deciding factor. To prove his point, the former opener proposed a hypothetical T20 series between a squad of players over 30—including Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Sanju Samson, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar—and a team of younger players. Ramesh expressed confidence that the experienced side would emerge victorious due to superior consistency and fitness. India recently experienced a 3-0 victory over Zimbabwe, following difficult 0-2 and 0-4 series losses against Ireland and England in T20Is.
