The great Indian waiting list: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi joins the queue as coach Gambhir tightens the screws

As for becoming a regular, it's not Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's time yet, but he's not too far away either.

“Vaibhav Sooryavanshi will have to wait for his chances.” Pat came Gautam Gambhir’s reply when he was asked why the 15-year-old didn’t take the field even once during the Afghanistan T20Is. It was the perfect set-up, against a team like Afghanistan. After his matches against England and a series in which he blew hot and cold in Zimbabwe, giving Sooryavanshi the freedom to swing his bat on Indian soil would have been ideal. But that’s not how simple it is. Many before Sooryavanshi have experienced it. Many after him will too. As rare a talent as he is, as capable as he is of setting records, and as weak an opponent as he is facing, Sooryavanshi too shall have to wait in line.

Gautam Gambhir made it clear to Vaibhav Sooryavanshi that he isn't an immedite part of India's Playing XI (PTI)

The in-form Sanju Samson is Sooryavanshi’s direct competition. Never mind his occasional failures. What Samson did for India at the 2026 T20 World Cup will forever be etched in the country’s cricketing folklore, and even though he was left out for three T20Is in England, Gambhir described it as the ‘toughest decision’ of his coaching career. Understandably so. How do you leave out someone who was named Player of the Tournament at an ICC extravaganza?

But at the same time, only Sooryavanshi could have taken up Samson’s place. After the sensational IPL 2026 he produced, becoming the youngest player to win the Orange Cap, he made himself, as chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar pointed out, undroppable. However, the three innings Sooryavanshi batted in the UK proved to be an eye-opener. After all, he still is raw for international cricket. He’s tasted great success for India Under-19, but every time the ball has done a little something, the same flair has gone missing. At the Under-19 World Cup, before bludgeoning 175 in the final, Sooryavanshi’s scores read 72, 40, 52, 30, 68. All explosive starts but none was a difference-maker. In June in Sri Lanka, Sooryavanshi huffed and puffed his way to 117 runs in the first four matches before razing through Sri Lanka A with a match-winning 94.

Sooryavanshi’s learning curve in England may not be a red flag, but those three outings were enough to prove that the prodigy isn’t unbeatable. There’s no way he would be at that age with a level of experience such as his. Against Zimbabwe, more than Sooryavanshi’s half-centuries, the fact that he added layers like patience to his batting was the bigger takeaway. But that’s not convincing enough for him to pip Samson just yet. And the reason goes deeper than just these two series.

From ambiguity to transparency

Not too long ago, Indian cricketers had to deal with a lack of clarity from the coach and captain. This was particularly evident during the Virat Kohli-Ravi Shastri era, when roles and combinations were frequently shuffled. Yuvraj Singh went on record saying that neither the coach nor the captain communicated with him about his place and future in the Indian team, and that it was MS Dhoni who eventually provided him transparency on the team management’s plans. Kuldeep Yadav, meanwhile, went five years without playing a Test after taking a five-wicket haul in Sydney. Shreyas Iyer and Mayank Agarwal were moved in and out of the side. Ambati Rayudu perhaps suffered the worst, suffering a shock World Cup omission despite being backed by Kohli as India’s No. 4 for much of the build-up.

That culture changed drastically when Rahul Dravid took over and made no fuss about openly telling Wriddhiman Saha about his fate, while also addressing it with the media. It was a fresh change from the ambiguity of the past. The buck didn’t stop with Saha. Strict but necessary decisions were taken throughout Dravid’s tenure. A month after scoring a record-breaking double century, Ishan was dropped for the first ODI against Sri Lanka to give the returning Shubman Gill a run in the lead-up to the World Cup. A pecking order was in place that was religiously followed.

From the current set-up, Sooryavanshi isn’t the only one waiting. Look no further than Yashasvi Jaiswal. Twice, he has been left out of the Playing XI after scoring a century to accommodate the more established Rohit Sharma. Sarfaraz Khan, more than two years after his Test debut, finally got a game, but only after the injured Sai Sudharsan was ruled out. So while Sooryavanshi might have to wait, he can find solace in the fact that players with more experience than him are behind him in the queue, and that whenever Samson or Abhishek are unavailable, he is next.

At 31, Samson may be no spring chicken, but he certainly isn’t at a stage where he has more matches behind than in front of him. India’s next big year in T20 internationals is 2028, when they have a World title to defend and an Olympic gold medal to win. Sooryavanshi is still young and has his whole career in front of him. It’s absolutely fine if he isn’t rushed.