Gautam Gambhir is under the radar of the former Indian cricketer after Washington Sundar was sent in to bat alongside KL Rahul in the last game, which might have stressed his injury further, leading to the all-rounder being ruled out of the series.
The Washington Sundar battle has taken a drastic turn. India played their first ODI game of the year 2026 and faced their first major injury crisis in the form of Washington Sundar. Sundar bowled 5 overs during the Vadodara game and soon held his back while leaving the field.
He never got back to the field in that game, but had to come out to bat at no. 8 when India needed runs at a run-a-ball. This infuriated the former cricketers, including Mohammad Kaif, as he felt that Washington Sundar's injury was escalated due to this decision.
Mohammad Kaif blasts Gautam Gambhir with accusations for partial treatment of Indian players
Washington Sundar was sent in when India needed a run-a-ball 22, and he remained unbeaten with a run-a-ball 7. However, Mohammad Kaif remarked on his YouTube channel and questioned the decision that, according to him, worsened Sundar's injury.
He referred to the incident during the first Test against South Africa, when Shubman Gill did not bat any further after suffering a freak neck injury. Kaif feels that forcing Sundar to bat could extend his return by 25-30 days. Gill did not come out to bat when India lost the match by 30 runs while chasing 124 runs.
“You will remember when Shubman Gill was injured, he did not come out to bat in that Test match, the Kolkata Test. It was a high-scoring game, and people thought that even 20 or 30 runs from him could help India win, but he still did not bat. That was done to give full protection to the player so the injury would not be aggravated."
"But the same approach was not applied to Washington Sundar. That is why I feel it was a wrong call. KL Rahul’s running between the wickets was affected. Even though India won the match, I feel there were higher chances of aggravating the injury in yesterday’s game,” said Kaif on his YouTube channel.
He further added that when India just needed runs at a run-a-ball, they could have easily gotten over the line with someone like a Kuldeep Yadav, especially with KL Rahul still unbeaten at the crease. "What might have been a one-week or ten-day injury could stretch to 20, 25, or even 30 days,” he added.
Ayush Badoni replaced Washington Sundar for the New Zealand series
The Indian all-rounder, Washington Sundar, was eventually ruled out of the remainder of the series due to a rib injury and has been replaced by Ayush Badoni, the Delhi boy who got his maiden national cap.
Badoni has been a sporadic young talent from Delhi, leading them as their captain across formats. With runs under his belt domestically as well as for India A, whenever he has had the opportunity. The batting all-rounder can also play a good hand with the ball.
“I believe that was a wrong call. You could have sent Kuldeep, or anyone else, even Siraj or Prasidh Krishna, if you just needed to play out the run-a-ball situation. Only when it becomes absolutely unavoidable, right at the end, should you send Washington Sundar," Kaif, however, never stepped back from blaming Indian management for the situation.
Mohammad Kaif cites 'communication gap' on Hardik Pandya's snub from ODIs
Hardik Pandya's exclusion from the New Zealand ODI series has also been questioned by Mohammad Kaif, as the CoE had ruled him unfit to bowl 10 overs, as a result of which he was rested from the ODIs, but the all-rounder is bowling 10 overs in full for Baroda in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
“Look, here we have the same situation we’ve discussed many times before. Mohammed Siraj was given a break, but he was playing for Hyderabad. When you give someone a break for workload management, it is to let the player rest, work out in the gym, fix any niggles, and get fit for India. But now he is playing for his state.
"So this is where the communication gap arises. Whether you take Mohammed Shami as an example, or Siraj, or Hardik Pandya, there is a communication gap,” Mohammad Kaif pointed out.
"For India, Hardik provides balance and finishing options. If you talk about finishing, KL Rahul will get relief because he is currently the only visible finisher. Suppose Iyer gets out early or Virat gets out early, then you would really feel Hardik’s absence. The target was 300 runs, which is a big score," Mohammad Kaif pointed out Hardik Pandya's importance in the Indian ODI team.
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