With two dismissals in three matches, England pacer Jofra Archer has certainly had the upper hand over his Rajasthan Royals teammate and India’s teenage batting sensation, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi . On both occasions, Archer targeted Sooryavanshi with the short-ball ploy, and the 15-year-old fell prey each time.
In the third T20I, Sooryavanshi gloved a short ball through to the wicketkeeper before top-edging another short delivery to a fielder in the fourth T20I in Bristol on Thursday.
Former England all-rounder Moeen Ali has now shared his views on the much-talked-about contest between Archer and Sooryavanshi.
Moeen said he had heard plenty of stories about Sooryavanshi dominating Archer in the nets at Rajasthan Royals, but stressed that international cricket is a different ball game and can be a cruel place for young batters.
“I loved the way Archer was bowling at Sooryavanshi. During the IPL, I saw Rajasthan Royals’ social media saying that Archer was smashed a few times in the nets (by Sooryavanshi). It was a great bouncer by Jofra to get rid of Vaibhav. He is a fantastic batter indeed and I am not trying to undermine his abilities. But, things are different in international cricket,” Moeen said on ‘
Sooryavanshi was picked after Samson, who was player of the tournament in the T20 World Cup this year, failed to score in three consecutive games. However, the prodigal batter has not been able to make much of an impact so far.
Sooryavanshi, who became India’s youngest international cricketer ever at the age of 15 years and 99 days in the second T20I, has managed scores of 14, 13 and 15 in his first three outings in international cricket.
Notably, Sooryavanshi earned his maiden national call-up following a sensational IPL 2026 campaign with Rajasthan Royals, where he amassed 776 runs at a staggering strike rate of 237.30, including a century and five fifties.
India have conceded the series 0-3 to England with the fifth and final match scheduled for Saturday.