Shreyas Iyer says Vaibhav Sooryavanshi cannot walk into India XI
Iyer confirms Sooryavanshi stays on bench as Abhishek and Samson retain opening spots for New Zealand series.
India's T20 captain Shreyas Iyer made it clear that Vaibhav Sooryavanshi won't force his way straight into the XI. Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson keep the opening spots for the five-match series against New Zealand that starts Thursday in Christchurch.
Iyer said the 15-year-old has years ahead of him to earn chances, and stressed the teenager needs to stay patient and positive around the group. Sooryavanshi has played just eight of India's 21 T20Is since his selection for the England and Ireland tour earlier this year.
Across those matches he has 246 runs at a strike rate of 186.36. Iyer believes the time overseas will help him adjust to conditions before bigger roles come his way.
CricHubb Take
India's benching of Sooryavanshi now puts the onus on the selectors to show a concrete plan for his next step—otherwise the "long-term" message risks sounding like polite delay.