Shreyas Iyer tells Vaibhav Sooryavanshi to wait behind consistent openers
Iyer said Sooryavanshi must wait his turn behind Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson after the West Indies series ended 2-2.
India captain Shreyas Iyer said Vaibhav Sooryavanshi must remain patient and stick to his processes because the team is backing the established opening combination of Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson. Sooryavanshi did not feature in any of the five T20Is against the West Indies, which finished level at 2-2 after rain ended the decider in Bengaluru.
Iyer said he has told the 15-year-old since the Afghanistan series that opportunity will come when the time is right. Abhishek scored 145 runs in five innings at a strike rate of 181.25, while Samson made 168 runs at 195.35. Sooryavanshi's last India appearance was in the Asian Games final against Pakistan.
Iyer also said the 2-2 result could have been different had India bowled better in the second and fourth matches. India now travel to New Zealand for a five-match T20I series beginning on October 22.
CricHubb Take
Sooryavanshi's benching after 776 IPL runs shows that white-ball selection still prioritises proven combinations over raw talent when the margin for error is small.