Ravi Shastri Questions Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s Exclusion, says Teenage Batter Deserves Immediate India Debut
Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has questioned the team management’s decision to repeatedly leave 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi out of the playing eleven. Shastri believes the T20I series against Ireland was the ideal opportunity to hand Sooryavanshi his international debut, but the team management kept him on the bench throughout the tour.
According to Shastri, it remains uncertain whether Sooryavanshi will get a chance against England, but he insisted the team management should hand him a debut as soon as possible. “I don’t know whether he’ll play against England, but he should be given a chance as soon as possible,” Shastri said. “He has smashed every bowler in the IPL. There wasn’t a single fast bowler he spared, and you kept him sitting on the bench.”
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Describing Sooryavanshi as the Indian team’s “X-factor,” Shastri said the teenager plays without pressure at just 15 years of age, calling it his biggest strength. “He’s the team’s X-factor. He carries no mental baggage. He’s only 15 and has the energy of youth in him. He fears no one. If his bat gets going in the first two or three overs, he’ll give the team a start the entire middle order can capitalise on. A place has to be made for him in the side,” Shastri said.
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Sooryavanshi has delivered a string of standout performances in recent months. He played a key role in India’s Under-19 World Cup win earlier this year, and followed it up with a record-breaking IPL 2026 season, scoring 776 runs. Despite this, he did not get a game in any of the matches against Ireland. He remained unused in the opening match of the England leg of the tour as well.