Following his dismissal in the third Twenty20 International against England in Nottingham on July 7, former Team India wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik thinks young Vaibhav Sooryavanshi will be put to the test frequently with the short delivery around his helmet.

Ace pacer Jofra Archer's superb bouncer at the 15-year-old's helmet caused him to tumble for a 5-ball 13.

In his first two international appearances, Sooryavanshi has failed, amassing 27 runs at an average of 13.50. In both games, the young player's reaction to the fast delivery at his body has been erratic.

"England's aggressive bowling and hitting hard lengths meant India had to be good off the backfoot, which they weren't. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, this is going to come a lot at him—the short ball at the helmet. What are his answers for that? Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer were looking for short balls and hence not fully committed to their shots. So it is technical on that front,” Karthik said on Sky Sports Cricket.

"Even if he hit the ball he got for six, the next ball would have been the same. So how does he deal with that? He needs to understand how to ride the pace and get inside the line of the ball. In T20 cricket, you get only one bumper, and you need to be good enough to deal with it,” he added.

According to Dinesh Karthik, captain Shreyas Iyer needs to step up and perform in the next two matches of the current T20I series against England. Following India's remarkable victory in the 2026 T20 World Cup, Iyer assumed the role of T20I captain.

However, his tenure as captain has begun poorly, with India losing all four of their matches against England and Ireland.

"There aren't any senior players in the team like Bumrah, Hardik, or Suryakumar Yadav. Even Sanju Samson is dropped. So who's the senior player? Hence, the conversations inside the dressing room should be spearheaded by Gambhir and Shreyas Iyer. But Iyer would know he has walked into mega territory. Being made the captain of a World Cup-winning team is huge pressure," said Karthik.

"But the next two games are a great opportunity for Shreyas Iyer to stand up as a leader and to be respected. Use the next two games to let your bat talk and get the runs. But also if you drive the team forward, it'll give huge belief in your ability,” he added.

India must win the remaining two matches to avoid their first bilateral T20I series defeat since the middle of the 2023 season.