Former Under-19 World Cup-winning captain Mohammad Kaif did not hold back in criticising the venue choices for the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26, questioning the conditions and arguing that the tournament’s pitches are not doing justice to the bowlers, and instead are not letting the real batting talent flourish. 

With the latest edition of India’s premier domestic 50-over competition underway across India, Kaif pointed out that the pitches used during the tournament have been heavily batting-friendly, making it difficult for bowlers to make an impact.

While he praised the intention of bringing the crowds to the stadium, Kaif thinks that making pitches batting-friendly is not the solution. 

“What I am seeing is a big mismatch. I understand why they want to take the tournament to smaller places and smaller cities, because that brings in crowds. I can understand why the Vijay Hazare Trophy is being held there. But if you want to pick players from this tournament, it is not showing the real picture. The tournament is not reflecting things accurately, especially for bowlers. You will find plenty of high run-scorers, players scoring hundreds off 30 balls and all that.

Batting is dominating,” said Kaif on his YouTube channel. 

Citing the examples of India’s ODI World Cup victories in 1983 and 2011, the former middle-order batter claimed that the team needs bowlers to win tournaments. He claimed that apart from Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh, India does not have new-ball bowling talent.

"But you need bowlers. If Bumrah does not play, who is the replacement? Tell me. You can say Arshdeep Singh has come in, but apart from that, there is no long line of bowlers waiting. There is a long line when it comes to batters. You have plenty of batters. But the 2024 World Cup was won by bowlers, the 1983 World Cup under Kapil Dev was won by bowlers, and the 2011 World Cup under MS Dhoni was won by bowlers. Sri Lanka was restricted to 270 at the Wankhede, and the bowlers won that match,” he concluded. 

Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 semifinalists confirmed

The top-four teams for this year’s edition of VHT have been locked.

Karnataka will face Vidarbha in first semifinal on January 15, whereas Saurashtra will lock horns with Punjab on January 16 in the second. Both the semifinals will be played at the BCCI Centre of Excellence, Bengaluru. 

Karnataka will face Vidarbha in first semifinal on January 15, whereas Saurashtra will lock horns with Punjab on January 16 in the second. Both the semifinals will be played at the BCCI Centre of Excellence, Bengaluru.