Photo via Hindustan Times

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi needs to wait, we have two fantastic consistent openers: Shreyas Iyer

India captain Shreyas Iyer has made it clear that Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s patience will be tested further, as the team continues to rely on its proven opening pair of Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson. Sooryavanshi, who delivered a standout IPL season with 776 runs for Rajasthan Royals and earned a spot in India’s T20I squad for tours of Ireland and England, has played just eight T20Is despite his impressive form.

His limited opportunities under head coach Gautam Gambhir—only three appearances in the England series this year—highlight the team’s cautious approach, especially after he failed to replicate his IPL success in those matches. Meanwhile, Samson’s inconsistent starts in the UK series led to his temporary replacement by Sooryavanshi, though he returned for the final game against England.

Samson was later rested for the Zimbabwe series but regained his place for the Afghanistan campaign, where he opened ahead of Sooryavanshi. All three batters featured in the Asian Games, but Sooryavanshi was sidelined during the West Indies series, underscoring the team’s preference for experience at the top of the order.

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