Former India batter Mohammad Kaif lashed out at the team management for not handing Vaibhav Sooryavanshi a debut in the two-match series against Ireland, which the Men in Blue eventually lost under the captaincy debut of Shreyas Iyer. The 15-year-old broke the door down in terms of selection in the senior squad, and Ajit Agarkar, the chairman of the selection committee, summed it up best: the left-handed batter picked himself after a sensational IPL 2026 season for the Rajasthan Royals, where he scored 776 runs.
Kaif said that the rationale for keeping Sooryavanshi out did not make any sense to him, and he even reminded head coach Gautam Gambhir that Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav were removed as captains because the think tank wanted to build towards something fresh.
Sooryavanshi didn't make his debut in Belfast as the management stuck with incumbents Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson and did not disturb the T20 World Cup 2026-winning pair.
“If you were making the best XI, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's name should have been there. The rationale given was that this is a World Cup-winning team and that we would play the same XI. And Vaibhav has to wait. Okay, that's your logic. Is that the right logic? Well, Rohit Sharma was the Champions Trophy-winning captain,” Kaif said on his YouTube channel.
{{/usCountry}}“If you were making the best XI, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's name should have been there. The rationale given was that this is a World Cup-winning team and that we would play the same XI. And Vaibhav has to wait. Okay, that's your logic. Is that the right logic? Well, Rohit Sharma was the Champions Trophy-winning captain,” Kaif said on his YouTube channel.
{{/usCountry}}“He was removed from the role in the next series, and it was said at that time that the team was moving towards youngsters. We need a young captain. Suryakumar Yadav, another World Cup-winning captain, was dropped. It was said we are looking at youngsters,” he added.
‘Follow logic’
Kaif also added that Sooryavanshi should have been a part of the playing XI due to his recent performances in the IPL, which saw him smash Chris Gayle's record of most maximums in a single edition of the IPL.
“If you are looking at the future and youngsters, there is a 15-year-old waiting in the wings. First is logic, and then Sooryavanshi is heading into the series after winning the Orange Cap in the IPL. He dominated the best bowlers. He broke Chris Gayle's record,” said Kaif.
“In the best XI, Sooryavanshi should have been there. So, don't have different rules for different players. It was shocking that Vaibhav did not play in the XI. The yardstick should be the same for everyone. You cannot have different rules for different players,” he added.
Now it remains to be seen whether Sooryavanshi makes his debut in the next T20I series against England, beginning July 1.