Vaibhav Sooryavanshi‘s initiation into international cricket has been tough. In the two matches he has played, he got starts but fell for scores of 13 and 14 in the India vs England T20I series. India lost both matches, while the first T20I was washed out. England have taken an unassailable 2-0 lead. Sooryavanshi replaced 2026 T20 World Cup Player of the Tournament Sanju Samson in the XI. And while his position may not be under scrutiny yet, international cricket can be a brutal place.
In the second T20I, Sooryavanshi fell to Will Jacks, while in the third T20I, Jofra Archer exploited his weakness against the short ball and dismissed him.
“I loved the way Jof (Archer) was bowling to Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. His only issue is going to be that if he doesn’t score in the next two, three, or five games, then that becomes an issue. I still think he is so good. The way he is getting out now, for me, that is not a weakness. I’ve seen him hit those balls for six. I’m not worried about him. It’s the rest of the guys coming down the order,” England’s Moeen Ali said on ‘Beard Before Wicket’.
Adil Rashid, who is playing in the series, said the data collected from the IPL has helped.
“He’s not been around in international cricket for long. People have seen a lot of him in the IPL and stuff. So you get the data. Like I said, our team would have seen where he struggles and where he doesn’t, and as a bowling unit, we are trying to implement that plan,” Rashid said.
“He’s got pressure on him because he is only 15. We’re taking it seriously as we have plans against each player. They would have told him to just go out and play the way he plays. It’s only when things progress further, and when he plays in different conditions and hits a rough patch, that he’s got to adjust and find certain ways. For now, I think India have given him that license,” he added