Vaibhav Sooryavanshi getting stumped on debut | PC- AFP
Indian cricket has been in bad shape after the men's team lost back-to-back series in Ireland and England. The Gautam Gambhir and Shreyas Iyer-led side were blamed for experimenting too much as they tussled between Sanju Samson and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi at the top of the order.
Team India didn’t start well under the Shreyas Iyer regime, as the newly appointed captain has yet to hunt down his maiden victory for the national team. That said, he was India’s best batter in IND vs ENG T20Is, scoring 218 runs in five innings.
'Indirect pressure' forced Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's debut
After three low scores in the first T20Is on the UK tour, Sanju Samson was dropped as the young Vaibhav Sooryavanshi recieved his first India cap at Manchester. Later, the 15-year-old also got just three games before the wicketkeeper batter brought back into the mix.
According to Dainik Jagran, both Gautam Gambhir and Ajit Agarkar were on the same page for giving six straight games to Samson before taking any call on Sooryavanshi. However, "indirect pressure" forced the team management to change their plan in the middle of the tour.
"Despite Sanju's poor performance in the two matches against Ireland and the first T20I against England, it was clear that he would play in the second T20I as well. However, due to indirect pressure, Vaibhav was given the opportunity. Vaibhav failed to perform well in the three matches. A source close to the selectors said that since Vaibhav was given the opportunity, he should have been included in the final match as well. Playing Sanju again in the next match was a poor decision," the Dainik Jagran report stated.
Sanju Samson recieved axing for ZIM tour
The Indian team management, including the head coach and chief selector, has been on thin ice since Sanju Samson was dropped from India's T20I squad for the Zimbabwe T20Is.
The 31-year-old wicketkeeper was India's main man during the 2026 T20 World Cup triumph, where he delivered the goods when it mattered most.
Despite bagging the Player of the Tournament award, Samson got only three chances before being dropped from the playing party.
He was once in the race to become India's T20I captain, replacing Suryakumar Yadav, but Shreyas Iyer edged him out eventually.
Nevertheless, the CSK star opener is part of the Indian squad for the Asian Games 2026, scheduled to be held around Aichi Prefecture in Japan in September-October.
Was Vaibhav Sooryavanshi fast tracked too soon?
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi set the stage on fire in the IPL 2026, proving that he is not a one-season wonder. In his second season, the Rajasthan Royals opener racked up 776 runs in 15 innings at a never-seen-before strike rate of 237, as he single-handedly took the team to Qualifier 2.
The 15-year-old became a headache for opposition bowlers, as he treated the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Kagiso Rabada like amateurs. Soon, he was asked to tour Sri Lanka with India A before joining the senior side.
However, Sooryavanshi learnt about the massive difference between IPL and international cricket on his maiden trip with the big boys. In three T20Is vs England, the prodigy could score 42 runs at an average of 14. His weakness against short-pitched bowling was exposed, but the talented batter has shown that he possesses the temperament to overcome such hurdles.
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