Vaibhav Sooryavanshi got a taste of international cricket debut as well as being dropped from Team India’s XI within the span of three T20I matches on the England tour. The 15-year-old wonderkid was primed to make his international debut from the time he was picked for India’s tour of Ireland and England. He got his opportunity in the second T20I against England after Sanju Samson (T20 World Cup 2026’s Player of the Tournament) was dropped following scores of 5, 0, and 1. Sooryavanshi got good starts in the three innings he played but could only score 14, 13, and 15. He was dropped for the fifth T20I.
England spin great Graeme Swann was unhappy with the decision.
“The fact is that in the three games that he played, he showed glimpses of what he is capable of. If he had come here for three games and been completely blown away, with stumps everywhere, then fair enough. But you bring in Sanju, who has got lower scores. Because he is 15, you have to treat him carefully. Because he is not emotionally developed, he will be disappointed. That could knock him back three or four months. The shoulders will go down,” Graeme Swann said on Sony Sports.
“There will be people who say that’s international cricket. But when you have the potential of a 15-year-old who could be one of the best ever, you have to nurture that. I don’t think he has been nurtured very well. I think he became the victim of the team’s performance.”
At the toss, India captain Shreyas Iyer said they opted for the combination as it was in the best interest of the team.
“Yeah, we’ve got two changes. Suryansh Shedge comes in for Washington, and Sanju Samson comes in for Sooryavanshi. I feel this is the time we need to figure out what’s best for us going forward as a team. Based on that, we decided this,” he said.
Even Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar wholly disagreed with the decision to drop Sooryavanshi.
“I don’t have a problem with Samson coming in. We had (predicted) Sooryavanshi at No. 3. You saw the way he walked. He is disappointed. We should have given him another opportunity in this game to see whether he has learnt. Twice he has got out playing the hook shot. Look at him. Dejected. Disappointed. I hope he only looks at this as a challenge now. Not being in the side is very disappointing,” Sunil Gavaskar said on Sony Sports.
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