Shreyas Iyer refuses to confirm Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s debut, backs World Cup heroes

The spotlight continues to remain on 15-year-old batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi ahead of India’s first T20I against England. However, with the series set to begin on Wednesday, India captain Shreyas Iyer has made it clear that the team management is not in a hurry to make changes and wants to continue backing the players who helped India win the T20 World Cup earlier this year.

While speculation over Sooryavanshi’s debut has grown ever since he was picked for the Ireland and England tours, Iyer avoided giving a direct answer on whether the teenager would feature in the playing XI.

Iyer wants to back India’s proven performers

Speaking on the eve of the opening T20I, Iyer stressed that every player in the current squad has earned his place through consistent performances and deserves the confidence of the team management.

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Introducing Sooryavanshi into the XI would most likely require India to alter the successful opening combination of Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma, something the captain appeared reluctant to discuss.

“Look, all the players in the team have performed well, it’s not that only one individual has performed well.

“But we have to build that opportunity and security, so that each individual has confidence going forward into the tournaments. The players who have won the last World Cup, definitely have an idea of how to play T20, and continuously they have been the main pillars of that format so it’s very important to back them,” Iyer told reporters.

His comments suggest the team management is keen to maintain stability rather than making immediate changes despite growing calls for Sooryavanshi’s debut.

Ireland defeat was disappointing, says captain

India enter the England series after suffering a surprise 2-0 T20I series defeat against Ireland, the first time the Men in Blue have lost a bilateral T20I series to the Irish.

Looking back at the result, Iyer admitted it was a difficult setback for the team, although he stopped short of calling it embarrassing.

“It wasn’t embarrassing, but it was depressing for us, because we definitely didn’t expect Ireland to play that well,” Iyer said.

The skipper credited Ireland for making better use of the conditions and admitted India failed to adapt quickly enough.

“They outplayed us in every department, they had brilliant ideas about the dimensions of the ground, and we fell short in terms of analysing and planning the ground and the dimensions, and how the wicket would be played.”

Focus shifts to England challenge

Despite the disappointing tour of Ireland, Iyer believes the team has learned valuable lessons ahead of a much tougher assignment against England.

The Indian captain pointed out that several players in the squad have previous experience of playing in English conditions, which should help the team adjust more quickly.

“Credit to them, but we learnt a lot from that series. This is a completely new chapter for us coming in here.”

“A couple of us have played in England before, and we know the conditions, we know the ideas, we know the dimensions over here. So, looking forward for an intense and challenging series.”

With the first T20I just around the corner, all eyes will once again be on the team sheet to see whether Sooryavanshi finally receives his long-awaited India cap or whether the management continues to back its experienced World Cup-winning combination.