Former India chief selector MSK Prasad urges patience before judging head coach Gautam GambhirThe term, saying that the T20I defeats in Ireland and England came without two of India’s most influential players, Hardik Pandya and: Jasprit Bumrah.India endured a tough tour, losing the two-match series against Ireland 2-0 before suffering a 4-0 loss to England. Pandya is out of the tour due to health concerns, while Bumrah has been rested from T20Is.Prasad believes that it is unfair to evaluate Gambhir based on results alone.“Just because the team is not performing well, we cannot put the responsibility on the head coach alone. We cannot say that Gambhir is not motivating the team. At the same time, just because we’ve won tournaments or World Cups doesn’t mean Gambhir alone has inspired the team. It is a combination of many things. Gambhir is not much to write home about,” Prasad told PTI.He said the team’s next full-strength T20I assignment will give a better measure of the coach and captain.“What we need to assess is when we play the next T20I series when the whole side is there, including Bumrah and Pandya, how is this team going? Then we will talk about who motivates who, or whether the captain can handle it, or the coach can handle it. So, the next T20 series is something we really need to check.”Prasad, however, was critical of the decision to leave Sanju Samson came out after a short run of low scores, especially considering the wicketkeeper-batter’s performances during India’s successful T20 World Cup campaign.“Why is the ax always on Sanju? Dropping Sanju is a big mistake. He is the best player in English conditions. He is very good when the wickets are tough and have bounce.“He gave match-winning performances in the quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals of the recently won T20 World Cup. He was the player of the World Cup. And suddenly, in 2-3 games, he couldn’t run and you dropped him.”The former selector also expressed concern over the handling of teen sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, saying the youngster should have been introduced more slowly instead of being put in a high-pressure series against England.According to Prasad, Sooryavanshi’s debut created unnecessary uncertainty within the playing XI.“Sending Vaibhav to Ireland and Zimbabwe is acceptable. Because if you have to build a player, I think you have to build him slowly, especially while dealing with an incredibly talented 15-year-old.“We had to be very careful and cautious about fielding him. Look, it caused a bit of trouble in the playing 11, the kind of pressure that was put in all quarters by the coach and the captain to play Vaibhav. In the first two games, Sanju did poorly. So, there was a lot of pressure. If Vaibhav doesn’t do well, there will be a lot of pressure again to bring Sanju back.”Prasad also questioned why Sooryavanshi was not picked for the Ireland series before being given a debut against stronger opposition.“To begin with, he should wait with Vaibhav, let him go through a complete season of domestic cricket in India.“For someone of that age, it’s always better to slowly bring him up the ranks. He should, first of all, include him in the Ireland series. Not to include him in the Ireland series first would be a mistake,” he said.