‘What wrong did Vaibhav Sooryavanshi do? Is this how young players are prepared?
IMAGE: Kris Srikkanth questions Shreyas Iyer’s decision to dump Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. Photography: BCCI/X
Key points
- Former India captain Kris Srikkanth criticized Shreyas Iyer’s decision to drop Vaibhav Sooryavanshi from the T20I series against England.
- Srikkanth questioned Iyer’s explanation for the team change, stating that it sent a wrong message to the young players.
- Sooryavanshi, the youngest Orange Cap winner in IPL 2026, played three matches but was dropped for the final T20I.
- Srikkanth drew parallels with Sachin Tendulkar’s debut and emphasized the need to build confidence in young talents.
- The controversy comes on top of India’s disappointing tour of the United Kingdom, where they lost both T20I series against Ireland and England.
The decision to bring in and then drop Vaibhav Sooryavanshi during India’s T20I series against England has raised eyebrows, with former captain Kris Srikkanth sharing his disappointment at the way the youngster was treated.
Srikkanth was particularly unhappy with Iyer’s explanation for leaving out the 15-year-old batsman from the playing XI for the fifth and final T20I against England in Southampton, where India suffered a 56-run defeat to end the series with a 4-0 defeat.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, the former India captain and chief selector questioned why Sooryavanshi was brought into the team only to be dropped after three appearances. He also disagreed with Iyer’s explanation at the toss while announcing the team changes.
Iyer had said, “I feel this is the time when we need to test what is best for us as a team. So, based on that, we decided this.”
But Srikkanth felt the decision sent the wrong message, especially when it comes to a young player trying to find his place at the highest level.
Srikkanth questions Iyer’s rationale
The call also failed to produce the desired result for India as England scored a massive 257 thanks to captain Jo Buttler’s outstanding 131. Sanju Samson, who returned to the team after being dropped early in the series, made a quickfire 27 off 14 balls but could not convert his start into a match-winning contribution.
“I was very angry at the interview after the toss,” Srikkanth said.
“This is not the way to talk. How you treat your players, how you are building a young team is important. If this is the way forward, the way forward is to change everyone (the leadership group). He said we want to take the best way forward. If you are willing to sack players based on their performance, the same criteria should be applied to Gautam Gambhir, the same criteria should be applied to the captain as well. “You are saying that the players are not performing, what has been your performance?
“What wrong did Vaibhav Sooryavanshi do? Is this how young players are groomed?”
Sooryavanshi’s success in IPL and international debut
Sooryavanshi earned his place in the Indian team after a record-breaking IPL 2026 season with Rajasthan Royals, where he became the youngest Orange Cap winner after scoring 776 runs. After missing the first few matches, the teenager made his international debut in Manchester and played three matches in the series.
While Sooryavanshi showed glimpses of his attacking ability, he was unable to make much of an impact, scoring 14, 13 and 15 in his three innings. He was dismissed twice by England pacer Jofra Archer during the series.
Lessons from Sachin Tendulkar’s debut
Despite those numbers, Srikkanth backed the youngster and recalled his own experience as India captain in 1989, when he gave a debut to 16-year-old Sachin Tendulkar during the difficult tour of Pakistan.
“Shreyas Iyer said in the toss ‘we want to come back in the best possible way’. Is this your best way forward? What is this interview? If you thought Sanju Samson was the best fit, then you should have continued with him. Why bring Vaibhav and then leave him? Why ruin his future? You are all ruining his confidence. When Sachin Tendulkar made his debut at 16, I went and told him, ‘they won’t leave you in this tour. You play without fear’.”
“Shouldn’t Gamhir and Shreyas give Sooryavanshi that kind of trust? It’s not fair. I’m very upset with the way Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is being treated.”
Team management under scrutiny
The controversy added to a disappointing tour of the UK for India, which failed to win a single match after losing 0-2 against Ireland before being swept 4-0 by England in the T20I series.
The team management has faced criticism for repeatedly changing its starting combination, with Samson dropped after just three matches despite being named Player of the Tournament in the recent T20 World Cup. At the same time, Sooryavanshi was not given a bigger opportunity after her much-awaited international debut.