Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif has explained why young India opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi struggled on his T20I debut against England in the second match of the five-match T20I series on July 4 in Manchester.

The 15-year-old made Indian cricket history as the youngest player. Despite his spectacular appearance, he was removed for 14 runs off 10 balls after smashing two sixes. Will Jacks, an off-spinner, stumped Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.  

Kaif noted that the young player had not played many off-spinners in the IPL and predicted that he would need to improve his performance against them in the future.

"I feel the start was okay. He got out because he does not play off-spin a lot. Even when he opened in the IPL, how many times did he get to face an off-spinner? This is the problem. It was his first match, and I will not judge. But he might have to work on this," he said on his YouTube channel.

Kaif recalled Abhishek Sharma's struggles against off-spinners during the 2026 T20 World Cup, but how he improved after working on his game. He did, however, emphasize that players should be well-prepared from the beginning and should not wait for a setback.

"Abhishek has become a much better player against the off-spinner. He has shown improvement in his game. Where he had to pause and train for it, he did it. He did it after he got that blow in the World Cup. But this is what I am telling, why wait till the blow? After getting out or losing, you have to work anyway. But a smart person works on this from the start," he explained.

Abhishek has performed well in both the T20Is against England so far, with scores of 59 (24) and 43 (24).

The fact that Vaibhav Sooryavanshi fielded for the entire 20 overs and even made a brilliant catch on his debut pleased Mohammad Kaif more than his batting. He believed it demonstrated his ability to field and his potential to develop into a skilled fielder.

"Sooryavanshi hits sixes, he has in the IPL also. That is okay. But I was the happiest seeing him field for 20 overs, and he took a difficult catch under pressure. This shows his fielding ability as well. I feel he has the skill to become a good fielder. So I was happy in that sense. He will score runs. That is not the worry. I would say it was a good debut overall," Kaif said.

Additionally, Kaif stated that Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who is frequently deployed as an impact player in the IPL, needs to field more. Additionally, he believed that the IPL coaches had a duty to help him become a competent fielder.

"We must make him field more in the IPL. We have already judged that maybe he is not a good fielder and have predetermined him as an impact player. Don't do that. The coaches in the IPL have the responsibility to improve a young, exciting player in all aspects,” Kaif added.

India and England will clash in the third T20I in Nottingham on July 7, 2026.