Legendary former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has backed 15-year-old batter Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s inclusion for the first T20I of the five-match series against England. The match will be played on Wednesday, July 1, in Chester-le-Street.
His comments came after India’s one-run defeat to Ireland in the second T20I on June 28, which saw India suffer a 0-2 series whitewash.
Speaking in a YouTube video on Sports Tak, Gavaskar said: “I think he (Vaibhav Suryavanshi) has to be included in the very first match. It’s as simple as that. Keep the batters who are out of form out of the playing XI and play Vaibhav Suryavanshi instead. Absolutely. Either open with him or bat him at No. 3. But one thing is certain, he has to play the first match against England on July 1. If India wants to surprise England in the very first match, Vaibhav Suryavanshi has to play. Yes, it’s possible that he could get out cheaply in his first game. That can happen. But if he gets going in the opening match, England will be shaken.”
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However, Sunil Gavaskar also backed Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson to continue as India’s openers, citing their strong shows over the past year and a half. He also stated that India could instead leave out one of the middle-order batters who hasn’t been among the runs and add Vaibhav Suryavanshi at No. 3, with Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer to follow.
“The opening partnership of Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma has served India very well over the past year and a half. They have consistently given the team strong starts. So, it wouldn’t be right to drop them after just two matches. But if you want to accommodate Vaibhav Suryavanshi in the XI, I think you should drop one of the middle-order batters who haven’t scored runs and play him at No. 3. I don’t see any problem with that. If you want him at No. 3, then Ishan Kishan can bat at No. 4, Shreyas Iyer can come in at No. 5, and after that you can arrange the rest of the batting order however you like,” Sunil Gavaskar concluded.
