After being outplayed by Ireland in the first T20I, many fans and experts expected to see the 15-year-old batting prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in India’s playing XI for the second game in Belfast on Sunday (June 28).
The Indian team management instead handed debut caps to pacer Prince Yadav and batting all-rounder Suryansh Shedge in a must-win fixture, keeping Sooryavanshi on the bench.
Even before the series got underway, the team management had indicated that Sooryavanshi would have to wait for his turn, sticking with the established T20 World Cup winning opening pair of Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma.
However, former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif highlighted a contradiction in this logic. He argued that if the management was so committed to an established World Cup combination, they should not have ousted Rohit Sharma as captain and Suryakumar Yadav after their ICC tournament victories just to look to the future.
Kaif believes that if the team is genuinely rebuilding, the best playing XI should include young, highly-rated talents like Sooryavanshi rather than relying solely on incumbents.
“If we talk about the best playing XI, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi had a place in there; his name should have been there. The logic given was that this is a World Cup-winning team, so we will go with the same XI and Vaibhav will have to wait," Kaif said while speaking on his YouTube channel.
“But you have to be consistent with that logic, right? When Rohit Sharma was dropped as captain after winning the Champions Trophy, it was said that they were focused on the future, so they wanted a young captain," he added.
“Same with Suryakumar Yadav as well, dropped after winning the World Cup and once again, being told that they are looking towards the future. If you are looking at the future, do you have a 15-year-old player who is bringing a better future than him?" he continued.
Months after their T20 World Cup 2026 triumph, India suffered a humiliating 0-2 whitewash at the hands of Ireland in the T20I series in Belfast.
While the Men in Blue lost the series opener by 34 runs, they fell agonisingly short by just a single run in the second T20I. The results ended India’s remarkable 16-series unbeaten streak in T20Is. It also marked a rough start to Shreyas Iyer's tenure as full-time T20I captain.
India will now travel to England, where they will play five T20Is and three ODIs beginning July 1 at Chester-le-Street.
