‘Definitely not acceptable’, Shreyas Iyer reacts after 125-run defeat:Gautam Gambhir breaks silence on Sanju Samson, says, ‘Given clarity to him’

Following India’s crushing 125-run defeat to England in the third T20I at Trent Bridge, captain Shreyas Iyer admitted his side’s performance was ‘atrocious’ during the post-match presentation and pointed out where the team fell short. The loss also became India’s biggest defeat by runs in T20I history, surpassing their previous worst margin of 80 runs against New Zealand in Wellington in 2019. On the other hand, Gautam Gambhir breaks silence on Sanju Samson after being dropped from the T20I side for the Zimbabwe tour. Notably, Sanju has scored only five runs in his last three T20I innings. ‘It was atrocious, definitely not acceptable’: Shreyas Iyer After facing an embarassing 125-run defeat to England, Shreyas Iyer shared his furious reaction and urged teammates to take responsibilities. He said, “I think it was atrocious. I couldn’t use a better word, honestly. Losing by such a big margin is definitely not acceptable.” “First things first, I feel that we need to accept this loss and completely go back to the drawing board and see what we did wrong. Looking at the wicket, I don’t think that it was a 200 wicket, first of all, to start with,” he further added. Shreyas concluded, “But other than that, the way we batted, we lost four (five) wickets in the powerplay. I think that itself did create the momentum, and definitely I feel that we lost over there. So, we’ve got to go back to the drawing board.” ‘Gave clarity to Sanju’: Gambhir on Samson’s T20I snub After Sanju Samson being dropped form the T20I side for the Zimbabwe tour, Gautam Gambhir breaks his silence on Sanju’s T20I snub during the post-match press conference. He said, “The clarity Sanju Samson needed, I’ve already given that to him and that conversation will remain between the coach and the player.” “As far as clarity is concerned, we are absolutely clear what Sanju has done for India during the World Cup has been phenomenal and sometimes you just have to look at the form as well of a certain player,” Gambhir added further. Can Sanju Samson make a comeback in T20I side? Gambhir also shared his insights regarding Sanju’s T20I comeback. He said, “And there’s nothing like hard and fast rule that he cannot make a comeback in this series. And more importantly, ultimately international cricket is about result.” “So, whatever we feel is the best combination to give us the results, we play that combination, we play that playing 11, and that is what I’ve always been a big believer that everyone needs to earn their place. Everyone needs to earn the right to play for India,” Gambhir said further. Gambhir elaborated the reason behind continuous defeats Elaborating the reason of defeats to Ireland and England series so far, Gambhir said, “We haven’t adapted well. That’s the reality be it Ireland or in England. The results are in front of you. If we had adapted well, played better cricket we may not have lost four matches in a row.” ‘It was an abject surrender’: Anil Kumble on India’s defeat Speaking on JioHotstar’s ‘Match Centre Live’, JioStar expert Anil Kumble reflected on India’s batting collapse against England. He said, “It was an abject surrender by the Indian team. You don’t expect a world champion side to cave in like that. England’s bowlers were right on the money.” “The Indian batters needed to show more patience and application, but everyone just tried to attack instead of absorbing the pressure. Yes, the required rate was over 10, but someone had to take responsibility and bat deep,” he added further. Kumble concluded, “Instead, they went the aggressive route and paid the price with a batting collapse. It was a disappointing surrender by the Indian batting line up.” Kumble urged to bring back Kuldeep Yadav in T20I set-up On the need for having Kuldeep Yadav in the squad, Kumble said, “Kuldeep Yadav certainly didn’t have a great season in the IPL, but he is a champion bowler. He should have been a part of the squad for this England tour.” He further added, “He was part of the side that won the T20 World Cup, and now he is not part of the squad here in England, nor the team going to Zimbabwe. So yes, it means they have moved on from Kuldeep after just one poor IPL season.” “He is 31, has a lot of cricket to offer, and he doesn’t play all three formats regularly. He doesn’t play much Test cricket, so it’s not like he is burdened and needs to be rested. He needs to play,” Kumble concluded.