Murali Kartik says Vaibhav Sooryavanshi should have opened against New Zealand
Murali Kartik says Vaibhav Sooryavanshi should have opened in the second T20I against New Zealand rather than batting at No. 3.
Murali Kartik took issue with the batting order India chose for the second T20I in Christchurch. The 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi walked in at No. 3 after Ishan Kishan retired hurt, faced eight balls, and made four. Kartik believes the kid’s best position is at the top of the order, so Sanju Samson should have dropped to three instead.
He also pointed out that experienced players are expected to adjust when a youngster is picked, and that Shivam Dube was an option if the team needed extra middle-order depth. India won the game, yet Kartik still felt the lineup didn’t get the most out of the players available. Sooryavanshi’s last full series was against Zimbabwe, where he collected player-of-the-series honours.
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The next question is whether India’s selectors will keep pushing Sooryavanshi into the middle order for the rest of the tour or finally let him open and see what he can do with the new ball.