Former Indian captain Kris Srikkanth has raised serious questions over the way the Gautam Gambhir-led team management is handling young batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. He slammed India's decision to leave Vaibhav Sooryavanshi on the bench during the fifth and final T20I against New Zealand in Hamilton.

With India already clinched the T20I series by winning the first three games, the team management had a good opportunity to give the 15-year-old another chance in New Zealand.

However, the team management decided to go with the same batting combination and made changes only to the bowling attack. This decision did not go down well with Srikkanth.

Kris Srikkanth slams Indian team management over Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's repeated snub

Kris Srikkanth believes that India should give Vaibhav Sooryavanshi a proper run of matches instead of keeping him in the squad without a clear role.

The former chief selector also suggested that the team management should communicate its plans to all three opening batters and give them a fixed number of opportunities. Amid this, Ambati Rayudu makes special request to Pragyan Ojha for Kuldeep Yadav ahead of IND vs NZ ODIs.

Sooryavanshi played two matches when Ishan Kishan was unavailable due to injury. However, he was again dropped to the bench after Kishan returned. The left-hander has been struggling to get regular opportunities despite delivering whenever he got the chance, both at home and away.

Kris Srikkanth said in a video on his YouTube channel: “Give a good run to Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. Give the three openers clarity. Tell them you'll play 3 matches and you'll get the remaining two. Instead, you have benched Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.”

Srikkanth questions why Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was ignored against Ireland and West Indies

India didn’t get a single match in the two T20Is against Ireland. Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma opened in both games, while India had a disappointing series. Srikkanth feels those two matches were the perfect opportunity to introduce Sooryavanshi to international cricket.

Srikkanth also questioned why India did not give him a chance during the T20I series against the West Indies, especially when they had a relatively less challenging bowling attack. He added, Where should Vaibhav have played? Ideally, those two matches against Ireland. You made a mess of that. And against a weak bowling unit like the West Indies, you didn't play Vaibhav at all.”

Kris Srikkanth warns India over Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's confidence after repeated snubs

The former World Cup winner believes that India's biggest mistake is keeping Sooryavanshi in the squad without giving him a clear role. He warned that repeatedly keeping the Bihar talent on the bench could only discourage him and make him doubt his place.

He further stressed, “Give him a chance and groom him. Instead of encouraging him, you're discouraging that boy. I want to ask why he didn't play the West Indies series. This boy has to play; instead, you're completely discouraging that boy. The opposition don't have any clue if Abhishek and Vaibhav open. You saw it in New Zealand.”

Kris Srikkanth wants India to fast-track Vaibhav Sooryavanshi into ODI setup

The former Indian chief also backed Sooryavanshi for a place in India's ODI team. He believes the teenager has scored runs at every level and has already shown enough talent to deserve serious consideration for the ODI chances.

Srikkanth further noted, “Give him a chance and groom him. Instead of encouraging him, you're discouraging that boy. I want to ask why he didn't play the West Indies series. This boy has to play; instead, you're completely discouraging that boy. The opposition don't have any clue if Abhishek and Vaibhav open. You saw it in New Zealand.”