Days after Vaibhav Sooryavanshi made his much-awaited T20I debut, a report has made an explosive claim involving head coach Gautam Gambhir and chief selector Ajit Agarkar. The 15-year-old created history by becoming the youngest player to feature for India as he was handed his debut in the ENG vs IND 2nd T20I and went on to play two more games. Sooryavanshi replaced Sanju Samson in the playing XI, a move that did not go down well with some. Now, a report claims that the Indian cricket team was forced to play Vaibhav in the series and that Gambhir had no say in the matter.
Who forced India to play Vaibhav Sooryavanshi?
As per Dainik Jagaran, the Indian team management faced ‘indirect pressure’ to play Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in the series against England. The report states that the 15-year-old wasn’t supposed to play the first six matches despite being selected for the series against Ireland and England and that the selectors had decided to stick with Sanju Samson for those six games. The report claims that both Gambhir and Agarkar had agreed that Sooryavanshi would only get a chance if Sanju had failed in the first six games.
“Despite not performing in the two games against Ireland and in the 1st T20I against England, it was decided that Sanju Samson will play the second T20I. But Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was given a chance due to indirect pressure,” the report states.
Samson was dropped from India’s playing XI after registering scores of 5, 0 and 1. He was excluded from the playing XI despite the team management backing the Player of the Tournament in the T20 World Cup 2026 to continue batting at the top of the order while asking Sooryavanshi to wait for his opportunity. However, Vaibhav replaced the Keralam star in the 2nd T20I and went on to play the next three matches, registering scores, of 14, 13, and 15, only to be replaced by Samson in the 5th T20I.
The report claims that sources close to the selectors opined that Sooryavanshi should have been allowed to play in the ENG vs IND 5th T20I since he was picked ahead of Samson for three matches.
Cricket
Sanju Samson snubbed against Gautam Gambhir's wishes, no rift between head coach, Agarkar
