Legendary South African batter AB de Villiers has questioned Indian team management’s handling of young Vaibhav Sooryavanshi as everyone awaits his India T20I debut. Sooryavanshi broke Sachin Tendulkar’s record after he became the youngest to be included in the Indian senior team for the Ireland and England T20I series.
However, Sooryavanshi has been benched despite clamor for his inclusion in the Indian XI. He was expected to make his debut against Ireland, but he was benched, and he wasn’t included in the Indian XI for the first T20I against England.
"When will he be unleashed? I thought the Ireland series was the perfect opportunity for him to come in and get a feel for international cricket. It was unfortunate that he never got an opportunity. I beg to differ with Ryan ten Doeschate, saying Sooryavanshi has to go through the process like any other player. After the IPL he had, it was time to throw him into the deep end, especially against a lower team like Ireland,” AB de Villiers said on his YouTube channel.
After winning Player of the Tournament at the Under-19 World Cup earlier this year and the IPL 2026, where he finished as the top run scorer with 776 runs at a strike rate of over 237, Sooryavanshi is in scorching form.
To succeed in UK conditions, AB de Villiers advised the Indian batting team to attack constantly. The Men in Blue were swept away by a disciplined Irish attack in Belfast for scores of 148 in 18.5 overs and 153/9 in 20 overs in their 0-2 series defeat.
“There is some work to do for Team India. They need to regroup, reset, and find a method to play in the UK. It's not easy in those conditions, where the scores are not like they are in the IPL. You don't get to the 250s and 260s there. It is more strategic and tactical out there, where sometimes 140 or 160 is enough.
You still have to lay the foundation, and there are ebbs and flows, similar to Test cricket. That's what India needs to figure out in their T20 setup when they play in the UK kind of conditions. Wait for the right moment to pull the trigger and go to fifth gear. Be prepared to sometimes pull back on odd occasions,” De Villiers concluded.
The second England v India T20I will be played in Manchester on July 7.
