Former Team India wicketkeeper batter Dinesh Karthik said young Vaibhav Suryavanshi will be tested repeatedly with the short delivery around his helmet after his dismissal in the third T20I against England in Nottingham on July 7 as well. The youngster succumbed to a stunning bouncer at his helmet from veteran pacer Jofra Archer, falling for a 5-ball 13. Suryavanshi has failed in his first two international games, combining for 27 runs at an average of 13.50 as well.
Talking about the same after the third T20I, Karthik said on Sky Sports Cricket, “England’s aggressive bowling and hitting hard lengths meant India had to be good off the backfoot, which they weren’t. Vaibhav Suryavanshi, this is going to come a lot at him – the short ball at the helmet. What are his answers for that? Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer were looking for short balls and hence not fully committed to their shots. So it is technical on that front.”
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“Even if he hit the ball he got for six, the next ball would have been the same. So how does he deal with that? He needs to understand how to ride the pace and get inside the line of the ball. In T20 cricket, you get only one bumper and you need to be good enough to deal with it,” he further added.
Dinesh Karthik also believes that the time has come for captain Shreyas Iyer to do well in the final two games of the ongoing T20I series against England. Iyer took over as India’s T20I captain after their stunning 2026 T20 World Cup triumph.
However, his captaincy stint has started on a poor note, with India losing all four of their matches against Ireland and England.
“There aren’t any senior players in the team like a Bumrah, Hardik or Suryakumar Yadav. Even Sanju Samson is dropped. So who’s the senior player? Hence, the conversations inside the dressing room should be spearheaded by Gambhir and Shreyas Iyer. But Iyer would know he has walked into a mega territory. Being made the captain of a World Cup-winning team is huge pressure. But the next two games are a great opportunity for Shreyas Iyer to stand up as a leader and to be respected. Use the next two games to let your bat talk and get the runs. But also if you drive the team forward, it’ll give huge belief in your own ability,” Dinesh Karthik concluded.
