Vaibhav Sooryavanshi on the bench: Why India's bold T20I vision feels incomplete

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi left on the bench: India's bold T20I vision feels incomplete

NEW DELHI: India's T20I skipper Shreyas Iyer called the dilemma of picking between Sanju Samson, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Abhishek Sharma a "luxury" for any side—but the real debate has been Samson vs the 15-year-old prodigy.

That tension played out before the Afghanistan T20I series kicked off Sunday at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Both Samson and Sooryavanshi made it onto the dugout, keeping poker faces intact, while Ishan Kishan held a long chat with batting coach Sitanshu Kotak. The mystery box finally opened at the toss—Sooryavanshi, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi and Yash Thakur were all dropped. Iyer's reasoning to Sanjay Manjrekar was frustratingly vague.

The result? Samson managed just 10 off 8 before Azmatullah Omarzai sent him packing. On a patient surface, it was Abhishek Sharma who shone with a 32-ball 82, earning Player of the Match as India chased down the target with 38 balls to spare.

After the 7-wicket win, Sharma reflected: "One or two bad series won't define our batting." Varun Chakaravarthy, economical from injury, backed the top order: "Against our lineup, you can't bowl spin—they'll smack you left, right and centre. Our top 8 can take on any spinner in the world."

But the Sooryavanshi question lingers. Samson's presence offers wicketkeeping depth and a left-right top-order combo—yet it steals what could be a gamechanging Abhishek-Sooryavanshi pairing. Samson had posted single-digit figures vs Ireland and the first T20I vs England before Sooryavanshi made his debut. The youngster then managed just 42 in three matches—until Samson was rested for Zimbabwe, where the 15-yearologist delivered a seriestopping haul of 151 at a staggering 196.10 SR.

With a packed 2026 calendar ahead—two T20Is vs Afghanistan, a one-off vs Japan, the Asian Games, five vs West Indies, five vs New Zealand and three vs Sri Lanka—dropping Sooryavanshi in favour of experience does a grave disservice to his talent and to Indian cricket at large.

Source: Times of India