Samson was the Player-of-the-Tournament in India’s triumphant 2026 T20 World Cup campaign.
However, the decision to leave Sooryavanshi out of the playing XI saw the Indian team management drawing backlash from the fans, experts and quite a few former cricketers.
Former India batter Subramaniam Badrinath has also thrown his weight behind Sooryavanshi, suggesting the young prodigy should be considered in the lineup instead of the out-of-form Sanju Samson, who was the Player-of-the-Tournament in India’s triumphant 2026 T20 World Cup campaign.
Head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Shreyas Iyer have opted to stick with the World Cup-winning opening pair of Samson and Abhishek Sharma. While Sharma managed scores of 49 and 59, Samson has struggled, posting single-digit totals of 5, 0, and 1.
"Timing is very important for a player in form. He should be given a chance when he is in the form of his life. There is no use playing him when he's not in form. Confidence is everything in sports and he is high on confidence right now. So he must play. Also, let's not forget, Sanju Samson has been continuously failing since the T20 World Cup. He hasn't done anything great since the World Cup," Badrinath said on his YouTube channel.
"Though I don't advocate dropping Samson, it's something to think about when an in-form Suryavanshi is sitting out," he added.
Badrinath also highlighted the urgent need to inject Sooryavanshi into India's batting lineup following their shocking back-to-back defeats against Ireland.
"There was a lack of intent with the bat in the two losses against Ireland. That makes it all the more a reason for Team India to play Vaibhav Suryavanshi," he remarked.
At 15 years and over 90 days old, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is on the verge of shattering Sachin Tendulkar’s 36-year-old record to become the youngest debutant in men’s cricket for India. Tendulkar was 16 years and 205 days when he made his international debut against Pakistan in 1989.
If the wonder kid from Bihar features in the England series at some point, he would become the youngest debutant ever for India across both men's and women's cricket. The record is currently held by Shafali Verma, whose maiden appearance for India came at the age of 15 years and 239 days.
The second T20I between India and England is slated to take place at Old Trafford, Manchester on Saturday (July 4).