Former Indian captain and commentator Kris Srikkanth slammed the Indian team management for not selecting the teen batting prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in any of the games in the five-match series against the West Indies at home, which ended 2-2.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Srikkanth asserted that it would be unfair for the dashing opening batter if he gets a chance in the forthcoming New Zealand T20I series after missing all five games against the West Indies at home.
“It was unfair that he (Sooryavanshi) didn’t play at all. He should have played at least two games against this West Indies attack. How you groom him is very important. Now they’ll play him straight in New Zealand, where the conditions won’t be as easy. If he had played in India against the West Indies, he would have smashed it and come into this series with such confidence. The team management and selectors are absolutely destroying him. He’s a sure all-format player,” Srikkanth said.
After helping India win the U19 World Cup with a Player of the Tournament performance, Sooryavanshi dominated IPL 2026, scoring 776 runs at a strike rate of over 237 to claim the Orange Cap. Sooryavanshi’s performances earned him a fast-tracked T20I debut against England in July 2026.
India T20I Squad vs NZ: Shreyas Iyer [C], Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson [WK], Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan [WK], Tilak Varma [VC], Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Naman Dhir, Prince Yadav, Mayank Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav
New Zealand vs India T20I series fixtures
Thursday, October 22 – First T20I, Christchurch
Saturday, October 24 – Second T20I, Christchurch
Tuesday, October 27 – Third T20I, Wellington
Friday, October 30 – Fourth T20I, Auckland
Sunday, November 1 – Fifth T20I, Hamilton
