Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Team India Playing 11 Pti (1)Image Credit source: PTI
In the next few days, a new history and a new record can be recorded in Indian cricket. On June 27, when the host teams of Ireland and India will take the field for the first T20 match at the stadium in Belfast, the eyes will be on one player – Vaibhav Suryavanshi. Does 15 year old Vaibhav get a chance to debut for Team India or not? If he debuts, he will become the youngest international cricketer in the history of Indian cricket. But for Vaibhav to create this history, Team India will have to make a place in the playing-11 and this is the biggest question – who will be dropped for Vaibhav?
If Vaibhav debuts then who will be out?
Since Vaibhav Suryavanshi He has hit sixes of big bowlers with his bat in IPL 2026, since then there was a demand for his selection in Team India. Not only common cricket fans, but also former cricketers and experienced experts kept saying these things. Eventually this happened and Vaibhav got a call from Team India. But during this time no one answers one question or very few people discuss it that in whose place will he be given a chance in the playing-11?
The same question is also facing head coach Gautam Gambhir and new captain Shreyas Iyer before the Ireland-England tour. It is believed that Vaibhav will get a chance in at least one or two matches or an entire series. But which batsman will be dropped from the top order, which won the T20 World Cup 2026 just a few months ago? Sanju Samson, who was the Player of the Tournament of the World Cup? Or Abhishek Sharma, who has proved to be the most explosive opener in the last two years? Or Ishan Kishan, who played a big role in making the team world champion as soon as he returned to the team.
Abhishek, Ishaan or Sanju – in whose favor are the statistics?
This decision has to be taken by Gambhir and Iyer but it is also important to know in whose favor the figures are. For now let’s just look at the current form. Abhishek Sharma could score a total of 89 runs in the T20 World Cup but this included an innings of 52 runs on 21 balls in the final. Whereas Sanju Samson, who was out in the initial matches, came in the middle and scored 321 runs (average of 80.25, strike rate of around 199) in 5 innings and was the player of the tournament. Ishan Kishan, who opened initially, then batted at number three and scored 317 runs (average-35.22, strike rate-193) in 8 matches.
If we look at the recent IPL 2026, the performance of all three batsmen was strong. In this season, Abhishek (SRH) scored 563 runs (strike rate 204), Samson (CSK) scored 477 runs (strike rate-165) and Ishan (SRH) scored 602 runs (strike rate-182). That means all three batsmen have performed well consistently. But there is only one player in this, who has performed consistently in both the tournaments and that is Ishan Kishan, who has not only proved to be strong in the opening, but has also done wonders at number three. He has also been useful in wicketkeeping.
Is Samson in danger?
In such a situation, if Vaibhav has to be brought to the crease, then only one of Abhishek and Sanju Samson will have to be dropped. These are two batsmen who have been fully supported by coach Gambhir. Especially Gambhir gave so much confidence to Samson that he was successful in cementing his place in Team India. But if anyone has understood the thinking of the team management including Gambhir, then he can tell that keeping the future in mind, Gambhir will not hesitate to drop Samson because Abhishek is younger than him and can remain a part of the team for a longer period.
In such a situation, there is a high possibility that Samson may have to vacate his place in the first match and the pair of Abhishek-Vaibhav may be seen holding the crease. But there are two years left for T20 World Cup and Olympics. In such a situation, it is quite possible that not only Samson but Abhishek may also have to sit in some matches, so that the pair of Vaibhav and Samson can also be tested. In some matches, by giving rest to Ishaan, Samson can be tested at the third position. This means that in the coming days, the opening slot may be seen moving on rotation and all three may be seen getting equal opportunities.
