Vaibhav Sooryavanshi featued in two of the five T20Is against New Zealand due to Ishan Kishan's injury.
Former India captain and chief selector Kris Srikkanth has strongly criticized the Indian team management and head coach Gautam Gambhir for their handling of 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.
Srikkanth's frustration boiled over during the just-concluded five-T20I series against New Zealand after the management repeatedly benched Sooryavanshi, despite the youngster showing blistering form when given the opportunity.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Srikkanth expressed bewilderment over why Sooryavanshi was left out of the last two T20Is despite India gaining an unassailable 3-0 lead earlier in the series.
In the third T20I of the series, Sooryavanshi had blasted a spectacular 49 off just 15 balls, stitching together a 133-run opening partnership with centurion Abhishek Sharma in just 7.1 overs to help India comfortably chase down 199 in 13.2 overs. Despite this performance, he was relegated back to the bench once Ishan Kishan returned from injury.
"Give a good run to Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. Give the three openers clarity. Tell them you'll play 3 matches and you'll get the remaining two. Instead, you have benched Vaibhav Sooryavanshi," Srikkanth said
According to Srikkanth, India had missed an opportunity to test their teenage batting prospect against a less challenging bowling attack of Ireland and West Indies.
"Where should have Vaibhav played? Ideally, those two matches against Ireland. You made a mess of that. And against a weak bowling unit like the West Indies, you didn't play Vaibhav at all," Srikkanth stated.
"Yes, Sanju Samson was outstanding. He was outstanding in the T20 World Cup. No doubt. But, the West Indies bowling that visited India, I would score runs against them at this age. It's a series for improving stats," he added.
Srikkanth claimed that dropping a player immediately after one or two games creates panic and uncertainty, accusing the Indian team management of discouraging Sooryavanshi.
"Give him chance and groom him. Instead of encouraging him, you're discouraging that boy. I want to ask why he didn't play the West Indies series. This boy has to play, instead you're completely discouraging that boy. The opposition don't have any clue if Abhishek and Vaibhav open. You saw it in New Zealand," he said.
Srikkanth further insisted that Sooryavanshi's dominance across competitions—including his standout performances in the Indian Premier League (IPL) with the Rajasthan Royals where he claimed the Orange Cap—merits consideration for India's ODI setup.
"Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is scoring at every level. I want him to be in the ODI team. I believe he should be in the ODI team. He is a boy who is highly talented. In the IPL, he top scored. He has scored runs everywhere," he remarked.