After handing an international debut to the 15-year-old wonderkid, India played musical chairs with the opening slot alongside Abhishek Sharma. In the build-up to the recently concluded Asian Games 2026, India played Samson as an opener against Afghanistan. India’s teenage batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi continues to warm the bench during the ongoing five-match T20I series against the West Indies. Sanju Samson and Sooryavanshi kept fighting for the remaining position, with neither batter getting a longer run. They, surprisingly, dropped him to number three at the Asiad, with Sooryavanshi opening alongside Abhishek.
“According to me, Vaibhav is like a storm. The coach slammed the team management’s decisions, terming it “dictatorship”. In a recent interaction, Sooryavanshi’s childhood coach Manish Ojha lashed out at the Gautam Gambhir-led team management over the handling of the teenager. “This current Indian team management feels that they make players by keeping them on the bench. There are many other legends of cricket; you talk to them, and everyone will say that if we have to prepare the next generation of players, they must be put into those situations; they must be made to play. Sitting on the bench, no player has ever been made, nor will they be. And especially if such talent is kept on the bench,” he added.
Whoever tries to take him on will eventually break, if not today, then tomorrow,” Manish Ojha told Sports Now .
