He can’t walk in right now: Shreyas Iyer on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s inclusion in India’s playing XI

New Delhi: Indian skipper Shreyas Iyer has shut the door on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s inclusion in playing XI in T20Is, stating that the teenage batting sensation will have to wait for his chances. Iyer made it clear that Sooryavanshi cannot walk into the playing XI at present.

Speaking ahead of India’s upcoming T20I series against New Zealand, Iyer said Sooryavanshi cannot walk into the playing XI as the experienced pair of Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma has been delivering at the top. However, he insisted it is important to keep a youngster like Sooryavanshi happy in the dressing room.

Sooryavanshi made his T20I debut against England earlier this year and has since featured in only 8 of the 21 T20Is that India have played so far this year. Despite being one of the most explosive batters in world cricket at present and having proven his mettle against the world’s best in the IPL, the 15-year-old has had to wait for his chances.

“It’s important that a talent like him (Sooryavanshi) should always be happy around the dressing room,” Iyer said at the pre-match presser ahead of the 1st T20I between India and New Zealand on Thursday.

“He is very young, he has more years to get opportunities. It’s not like he can walk in right now, because our openers are scoring consistently, and they have won the World Cup,” he added.

Lack of opportunities for Sooryavanshi

Sooryavanshi last played for India during their gold-medal-winning campaign at the Asian Games 2026. He opened the batting with Abhishek as Samson moved to no.3 to accommodate the youngster. The 15-year-old scored 53 runs in two matches in the tournament at a strike rate of over 176 to offer a glimpse of his talent.

He was later reduced to the bench in all five matches of the recently concluded T20I series between India and West Indies at home. The five-match series ended 2-2 after the final game was washed out due to rain. Amid his regular absence from the playing XI, many have called for Sooryavanshi’s inclusion given his talent and potential.

However, Iyer’s comments have made it clear that the youngster will have to wait for his chances. Samson and Abhishek opened the batting for India in the T20 World Cup earlier this year and played a key role in helping the team defend their title successfully.