Veteran India batter Hanuma Vihari called out the unfairness in selection following Abhishek Sharma’s poor form in the ongoing T20I series against Zimbabwe. India won the series 2-0, with the final game to be played on Sunday, July 26 as well.
Vihari slammed the hypocrisy as Sanju Samson was left out of the side after three poor performances despite being the ‘Player of the Tournament’ at the 2026 T20 World Cup, while Abhishek Sharma has received a lot of chances despite an inconsistent show since the World Cup.

“Before the World Cup, Sanju Samson did not perform in five games and lost his spot in the starting 11. He then made a comeback and became Player of the Tournament. In that same tournament, how many runs did Abhishek Sharma make? In the UK series, apart from one fifty, there were no scores at all. Not even 20s and 30s, no significant score. One fifty in the last eight matches. If you include the World Cup, three half-centuries in the last 18 matches,” he said in a video on his YouTube channel.

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He again said, “How many matches Samson played in the World Cup? Three. And fifties in all three. Abhishek’s highest score in the five matches is 16. Why is no one talking about it? When it comes to Samson, they say he is inconsistent. Fair enough. But he can win high-pressure matches on his day. Abhishek is a player with a lot of hype, but Samson is also equal. He has also performed in the IPL. Why different rules for different players?”

With the series in the bag, Hanuma Vihari felt that Abhishek Sharma should be rested for the final T20I. He shared how
Samson was dropped in the England series to give Vaibhav Suryavanshi a go, and then how Suryavanshi was also dropped after failing to score well in just three matches as well.

“Will Abhishek be dropped and Prabhsimran be given a chance in the third T20I with the series won? We saw in England how Samson was dropped and Vaibhav got a chance. Later, Vaibhav failed, and Samson came back for the last match. Abhishek is the only one who has been constant. His performance is not up to the mark. Yes, he can win matches on his day, but there are many players who can do that. Even if Prabhsimran plays ten games, he will score two fifties,” he concluded.