Shreyas Iyer says Vaibhav Sooryavanshi must wait behind established openers
India captain Shreyas Iyer urged Vaibhav Sooryavanshi to remain patient and trust his process despite missing the entire West Indies T20I series.
India skipper Shreyas Iyer said on Saturday that Vaibhav Sooryavanshi must remain patient and wait his turn, with the side sticking to its current opening pair of Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson. The young batsman broke through in IPL 2026 with Rajasthan Royals, hitting 776 runs and claiming every major batting award, which earned him a spot on the T20I tours to Ireland and England. So far he has played just eight T20Is, most of them when VVS Laxman was in charge; under Gautam Gambhir the 15-year-old has appeared in the XI only three times, all during the England series earlier this year.
Sooryavanshi missed every match against Afghanistan and the West Indies, and after India’s five-game series with the Windies finished 2-2, Iyer was asked about his chats with the teenager. “I just keep telling him, you'll get your opportunity. You see, there are two batters who have probably won the World Cup for you, and they've been consistent with the run scoring as well,” the captain said at the post-match presentation. “If you are consistent with your processes and your mindset is a bit light, don't think too much about getting an opportunity right now.”
CricHubb Take
The decision to keep Sooryavanshi out of five consecutive T20Is against West Indies shows the management values proven World Cup-winning consistency over recent IPL form when selecting openers.