Vikrant Gupta does not hold back. The senior journalist and managing editor of Sports Tak has watched India’s T20I team slide from World Cup glory to a series whitewash against Ireland and now to a struggling England tour. He posted a tweet that cut through all the official explanations.
“There is no place for Tilak Varma (vice captain) in the XI if you are protecting him in the batting order.”
Vikrant Gupta (@vikrantgupta73), X post, July 2026
The tweet was not just about one player. It was about a pattern that Gupta has been tracking since the Ireland series in late June.
There is no place for Tilak Varma (vice captain) in the XI if you are protecting him in the batting order. For the next two games India’s six batsmen should be:
1) Abhishek
2) Vaibhav
3) Samson
4) Shreyas
5) Ishan
6) Shivam #IndvsEng— Vikrant Gupta (@vikrantgupta73) July 7, 2026
India went to Belfast as the reigning T20 World Champions. They left with a 2-0 series loss that went down as their biggest T20I defeat in years, their first series loss in three years. The batting collapsed in both matches. In the first game, chasing 183, India managed only 148. In the second, chasing 154, they fell short by one run.
India will most likely bat out 20 overs and still fall way too short of the 155-run target. Not absolving the top order for early collapse but Tilak Verma batted on and on and on yet never tried to attack for runs.
From the glory of winning T20 World Cup to the ignominy of being…— Vikrant Gupta (@vikrantgupta73) June 28, 2026
“India will most likely bat out 20 overs and still fall way too short of the 155-run target. Not absolving the top order for early collapse but Tilak Verma batted on and on and on yet never tried to attack for runs. From the glory of winning T20 World Cup to the ignominy of being blanked.”
Vikrant Gupta (@vikrantgupta73), X post, June 28, 2026
Throughout both matches, 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi sat on the bench. The teenager had set the IPL on fire, scoring runs against the best fast bowlers in the world. Yet the team management decided not to give him a debut, a decision that sparked intense debate.
Before the series, batting coach Sitanshu Kotak had explained the thinking.
“I don’t think that just to give him an opportunity, we should drop someone who has already been scoring runs. That also won’t be right. I think there is a very thin line between trying to give somebody an opportunity and you are being unfair to some other player.”
Sitanshu Kotak, India batting coach, press conference, June 25, 2026
The argument sounded reasonable. But after the series was lost, the questions grew louder. India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate admitted the teenager was “absolutely ready” for international cricket. If he was ready, and the team lost both games, the decision to keep him on the bench became harder to defend.
Vikrant Gupta did not let the issue rest. When the squad for the Zimbabwe T20Is was announced, Sanju Samson was dropped from the squad — the T20 World Cup final hero left out. The official word was “rested.”
Gupta called it out.
“The official line is Sanju Samson has been ‘rested’. He plays only T20s, has just been dropped from the XI and will be the only one amongst India’s T20 batting line up who’s been rested for Zimbabwe.”
Vikrant Gupta (@vikrantgupta73), X post, July 6, 2026
The official line is Sanju Samson has been “rested”. He plays only T20s, has just been dropped from the XI and will be the only one amongst India’s T20 batting line up who’s been rested for Zimbabwe
— Vikrant Gupta (@vikrantgupta73) July 6, 2026
That tweet connected the dots. First Vaibhav was benched to protect him. Then Tilak Varma was shielded in the batting order. Then Samson was dropped and called rested. Each decision on its own could be defended. Together, they formed a pattern.
Insider Read:
The problem with the “rested” label is not about one player feeling slighted. It is about what happens inside the dressing room when management language does not match reality. Every professional cricketer knows when he has been dropped. When the team tells the media one thing and the player knows another, trust erodes quietly. That erosion does not show up in press conferences. It shows up on the field when batters play for their spots instead of playing for the team. A side that won the T20 World Cup less than six months ago does not lose to Ireland because of bad form. It loses because the clarity that made them champions has disappeared.
The BCCI and team management have not made a public response to Vikrant Gupta’s specific criticism about protecting players in the batting order.
Sources:
- Post-series presentation, Shreyas Iyer, June 28, 2026 ANI News
- Press conference, Sitanshu Kotak, June 25, 2026 Rediff
- Media interaction, Ryan Ten Doeschate, June 29, 2026 Kyro Sports
- Vikrant Gupta on X, June 28, 2026 X/Twitter
- Vikrant Gupta on X, July 6, 2026 X/Twitter
- Vikrant Gupta on X, July 2026 X/Twitter
