Former India spinner Maninder Singh has attributed Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s dismissal on his international debut to nerves, saying the 15-year-old looked overwhelmed by the occasion. The teenage left-handed opener made his India debut in the second T20I against England and, despite showing flashes of his attacking intent, could not quite convert it into a big score on a tense night at Emirates Old Trafford in Manchester.
India posted 190 after winning the toss on Saturday, July 4, but the total was not enough as Harry Brook’s England side chased it down with four wickets in hand to move ahead in the five-match series. Sooryavanshi scored 14 off 10 balls before being stumped off Will Jacks, after hitting a six each off Jofra Archer and Josh Tongue in a lively start that hinted at his natural aggression. He also shared a 50-run opening stand with Abhishek Sharma, giving India a brisk opening platform before the innings lost momentum.
Maninder felt the youngster may have benefited from making his debut during the Ireland series, when the pressure and quality of opposition would have allowed him to settle into international cricket more gradually. In his view, the early exposure to a tougher England attack may have brought the nerves to the surface too quickly.
“He should have been played in Ireland itself because of the rhythm he was in, the form he was in. If these failures had happened in the Ireland series, by the time he came here, he might have understood and that nervousness would have gone. Because of the way he played his shot, that was not Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s shot. That was a shot of nervousness,” Maninder Singh told ANI.
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The former spinner added that nerves are only natural for someone so young, especially when playing against seasoned international bowlers. “There will be nerves. Even the big players get nervous, and he is just a 15-year-old kid. He is playing with men, he is competing with men,” he said.
Sooryavanshi has already built a reputation as one of India’s most exciting young batting talents. He first burst into the spotlight with a 35-ball century against the Gujarat Titans in IPL 2025 and followed it with an extraordinary IPL 2026 season, where he piled up 776 runs at a strike rate above 237 and smashed a record 72 sixes in a single campaign. That explosive form is a big reason why India backed him for his international debut.
Singh, however, urged fans to remain patient and not judge the youngster too harshly after one innings. He believes Sooryavanshi has the kind of fearless mindset modern white-ball cricket demands and can produce match-winning performances in the future.
“All Indian cricket lovers need to have patience because he is a talented cricketer. He is an impact player. Whenever he plays, he will create such an impact that he will win the match single-handedly. So I am not too worried. Because he is a brave player and white-ball cricket today is a game of the brave, Vaibhav Suryavanshi is one of them,” Maninder Singh added.
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Sooryavanshi’s debut also came in the backdrop of India dropping wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson from the playing XI after a lean run of scores. Samson had made 5 and 0 against Ireland, followed by just 1 in the opening T20I against England at Durham, though the decision still drew criticism from Sanjay Manjrekar and others who felt his strong IPL 2026 and T20 World Cup form deserved greater backing. India will now look to level the series when they face England in the third T20I at Trent Bridge in Nottingham on Tuesday, July 7.
