After Sanju Samson‘s twin failures in the Ireland series, will the Indian team management consider handing Vaibhav Sooryavanshi his India debut against England in Durham? The 15-year-old watched from the sidelines as India lost their first-ever series to Ireland.
In the two matches, Samson managed to score 5 off 5, and Ishan Kishan got just 13 off 16. If Sooryavanshi were to come in, it would be for one of them since they are top-order batters and wicketkeepers. After the Ireland disaster, will the management throw the teenager in?
Shreyas Iyer stays mum on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s selection
Shreyas Iyer was asked about the lineup on the eve of the India vs England 1st T20I at the Riverside Ground in Chester-le-Street. But India’s T20I captain didn’t want to reveal the combination, as the opposition would be able to plan against them.
“Our hands are tied. This is very private. We can’t let everyone know what combination we are going to play, as the opponents would also find out,” Shreyas told reporters in Durham.
The 31-year-old, who was making his comeback into the T20I side after 30 months, was once again questioned about Sooryavanshi. But stayed mum on the matter. He just praised the teenager.
“He’s (Sooryavanshi) a brilliant prodigy, and whenever he gets an opportunity to play, he will perform brilliantly,” he added.
In Belfast, Shreyas had stated that Sooryavanshi will have to wait for his turn, with Abhishek Sharma, Samson and Kishan all performing marvellously during the T20 World Cup 2026. The management won’t just drop them to accommodate the 15-year-old. Perhaps they’ll be forced to make the change if one of Samson or Kishan keeps on failing.
“Unfortunately, no. He’s a gun player. But obviously, we’ve got tremendous experience in the squad who have done brilliantly in the past couple of series for India. So, we are backing the majority of our cricketers who have been doing absolutely marvellously. He will get his opportunity when the time comes,” Shreyas had said on June 26.
India’s squad for England T20I series
Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma (vc), Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Prince Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Prasidh Krishna, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Suryansh Shedge
