Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Himself Speaks On Gambhir’s Management Benching Him Mid Series

Sooryavanshi was benched for the majority of UK tour [Source: AFP]

After an excellent IPL 2026 season,where Vaibhav Sooryavanshi took the league by storm and became the highest run-getter, the BCCI selectors immediately drafted him into the India T20I squad for the UK tour. There was a buzz surrounding his debut, as many expected the 15-year-old prodigy to make his debut against Ireland.

However, to everyone’s surprise, Sooryavanshi didn’t make his India debut on the Ireland tour, and had to wait for the second T20I against England to wear the India cap.

After three failures, Sooryavanshi was dropped from the playing XI for the fifth T20I, and this, too, raised eyebrows as critics slammed the Indian team management for taking a harsh call.

Sooryavanshi breaks silence on being benched during UK tour

With Sooryavanshi having a challenging start to his international career, the youngster revealed that the last four months have been challenging, but his self-belief remains intact.

The 15-year-old broke the silence on how he felt after not playing much and warming the bench during the Ireland and England matches.

“Yes, there have been several ups and down in the last four months; it’s part of cricket it will keep happening but I have to follow the process and give my 100 per cent for the team," the Indian opener told BCCI TV.

“It’s an obvious thing that whatever I want (guidance etc), the coaches are making it available and whatever practice I require I am getting that. Feeling very good, there is confidence also," he said.

Sooryavanshi played just three matches on his debut tour

Having played well in the IPL and during the tri-nation series against Sri Lanka A, and Afghanistan A, Sooryavanshi was tipped to replace Sanju Samson in the playing XI almost immediately.

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To everyone’s surprise, the southpaw sat on the bench during the Ireland series as the Gautam Gambhir-led management received criticism from the Indian fans. Things escalated as the youngster was not picked in the playing XI for the first T20I against England.

However, Gambhir answered fans’ prayers as Sooryavanshi received his Indian cap in the second T20I, but things didn’t go according to plan.

In three matches, the left-handed batter scored just 42 runs, with an average of 14 and a strike rate of 168. With three back-to-back failures, the team management dropped him from the playing XI for the fifth T20I match.

The importance of Zimbabwe series for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi

Sooryavanshi was expected to deliver the goods against England, but the Indian opener struggled to score runs as his confidence was dented. After failures in England, the Indian youngster will be under pressure to deliver against Zimbabwe.

Team India has a plethora of openers waiting in the wings. Abhishek Sharma is the first-choice opener, and the likes of Sanju Samson, Priyansh Arya, and Prabhsimran Singh are also in line. If the teenager fails against Zimbabwe, the team management might make a harsh call to drop him.

Hence, Sooryavanshi will be eager to silence his critics by scoring truckloads of runs against a quality Zimbabwean bowling attack.

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