Ireland had just completed one of the biggest victories in their cricket history. Perhaps a watershed moment for them. India have been humbled after getting beaten 2-0. Ireland have ended India’s 16-series unbeaten run in T20Is, and questions are flying in every direction.
Why did the batting collapse? Why did the world champions look so uncomfortable? And perhaps the most asked question of all is why didn’t Vaibhav Sooryavanshi get a game?
The 15-year-old spent the entire tour carrying drinks, signing autographs and attracting more attention than most players in the playing XI. This series’ hype was carried by Sooryavanshi, whose name was used umpteen times by broadcasters and media. Yet when India handed out debut caps in Belfast, they went to Prince Yadav and Suryansh Shedge, not the teenager many fans had travelled to see.
The Indian team was adamant that you wouldn’t straightaway walk into the side and disturb an already settled balance. This Gautam Gambhir-led management believes in giving players enough time. This is something we saw in the Test setup as well, when the head coach publicly backed Sai Sudharsan for the number three spot despite some questions asked with Devdutt Padikkal’s presence. Yet, India persisted with Sudharsan, stating that he deserves more chances.
No panic decisions on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
The Indian selectors have fast-tracked Vaibhav Sooryavanshi for a reason. Sooryavanshi’s IPL 2026 season felt like something out of a video game. The Rajasthan Royals opener smashed 776 runs in 16 innings, won the Orange Cap, Player of the Tournament and Emerging Player awards; and did it at an unbelievable strike rate of 237.30. He cleared the ropes 72 times, the most by any batter in a single T20 tournament.
He was hitting sixes in his own command. Take the game against LSG for an example. Before the match, Sooryavanshi told his teammates that he would hit 13 sixes. Guess what? He managed to hammer ten and it led Kumar Sangakkara to share a brilliant story with us.
As if that wasn’t enough, he then blasted the fastest fifty in List A history, reaching the landmark in just 11 balls for India A against Sri Lanka A. The numbers made his selection impossible to ignore. Yet India didn’t consider reshuffling their batting order to fit him in.
Part of that comes down to reputation. Abhishek Sharma remains the No. 1-ranked T20I batter in the world. Ishan Kishan has struck at nearly 192 in T20 cricket this year. And despite his miserable Ireland tour, Sanju Samson was one of the biggest architects of India’s T20 World Cup triumph only three months ago.
That’s why one bad series wasn’t enough to trigger panic. Even though Samson returned scores of 5, 0 and 0, and India lost both matches, the management believes players who helped deliver a World Cup deserve more than two games before being judged.
Ryan ten Doeschate makes India’s stance crystal clear
Assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate finally addressed the issue after the series defeat.
“He’s absolutely ready to play international cricket, there’s no doubt about that,” ten Doeschate said.
But the coach quickly explained why readiness alone isn’t enough. “But also, I think it’s not a question to say you can leave Sanju Samson out. A guy who went a long way to winning India the World Cup three months ago. A guy who’s had a fairly good IPL [Samson scored two hundreds for Chennai Super Kings].”
The former Netherlands international stressed that India want to send a stable message inside the dressing room. “It’s important in terms of giving players confidence, and the message we’re sending to players. We want to give guys a long run in the team.”
Ten Doeschate then gave away something that many Sooryavanshi’s fans didn’t want to hear. The Indian assisntant coach said that as much as ecxiting it is to see the talented youngster play, he needs to bide his time and wait.
“So, you know, as ready as Vaibhav is and as excited as we are and you are to see him play, he’s going to have to go through the same process as everyone else and, you know, bide his time and wait. But certainly no questions about how good he is and how ready he is.”
India clearly believe Sooryavanshi is ready. What they don’t believe is that a couple of failures from established players should suddenly push them out of the queue. Hence, Sooryavanshi might not start again in the upcoming T20Is against England, starting July 1.
