Indian T20I captain Shreyas Iyer has revealed the actual reason behind dropping the teen batting prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi from the playing XI for the fifth and final T20I against England in Southampton on Saturday, July 11.
Speaking at the post-match press conference in Southampton after India’s 0-4 T20I series defeat, Iyer disclosed that the team management wanted to try a right and left opening pair in Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma, which resulted in Sooryavanshi losing his spot.
“As I mentioned, we wanted to try the combination that we felt would be best suited to these conditions. We also wanted a right-hander to open with Abhishek, and that was one of the major reasons,” Iyer said at the post-match press conference.
“As you saw, I was the only right-hander among the left-handers. We wanted to try a different combination that would suit this particular game. Sanju is a quality batsman, and he has won us many series in the past,” he added.
Furthermore, Iyer has also asserted that the 0-4 T20I series loss to England would help him become a better skipper, adding that the criticism following the series sweep wouldn’t change his approach as a captain.
“It’s not hard, honestly. Captaining India is a privilege. Every player dreams of leading the Indian team. Taking over the captaincy comes with responsibility, but I love pressure and see it as a privilege. These moments will help me grow and make me a better captain going forward,” he observed.
“I’m not thinking too much about what people will say about this series because good and bad phases are part and parcel of the game. Going forward, I need to stay positive and focus on nurturing the players around me. We know we have tours to Australia and other overseas series coming up. Building the right camaraderie and adapting to those conditions will be our goal, and that’s the plan going forward,” he concluded.
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