‘He Cannot Walk In Right Now’: Shreyas Iyer on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s India T20I Selection

India T20I captain Shreyas Iyer has made it clear that young batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi will have to wait for regular opportunities in the national side, with openers Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson continuing to deliver consistent performances.

Speaking ahead of India’s five-match T20I series against New Zealand, Iyer said Sooryavanshi had plenty of time to establish himself and could not expect to walk straight into the playing XI while the current opening combination was performing well.

“It's important that a talent like him (Sooryavanshi) should always be happy around the dressing room,” Iyer said.

“He is very young, he has more years to get opportunities. It's not like he can walk in right now, because our openers are scoring consistently, and they have won the World Cup.”

Sooryavanshi Has Played Eight of India’s 21 T20Is

Since being selected for the England and Ireland tours earlier this year, Sooryavanshi has featured in only eight of the 21 T20Is India have played. Abhishek and Samson have retained their places at the top of the order through consistent performances, having also played key roles in India’s successful defence of their T20I World Cup title earlier this year.

At the Asian Games, Samson moved down to No. 3 to make room for Sooryavanshi to open the innings.

Iyer believes the teenager’s experience of playing in overseas conditions will prove valuable when he gets further opportunities.

“When he is coming overseas, he will get a fair idea how to play on these particular wickets,” Iyer said.

“Next time, whenever he comes in these conditions, he will be very well-prepared. And he can also instruct the other team members, whoever comes here for the first time.”

India Ready to Adapt to New Zealand Conditions

India have arrived in New Zealand after a demanding schedule that included back-to-back home series against Afghanistan and the West Indies, along with participation in the Asian Games over the past month.

Iyer acknowledged the workload but said the team was focused on finding ways to win rather than dwelling on the schedule.

“We've done that in the past, especially after finishing the Afghanistan series. We went to Ireland, and we got a couple of more matches in between. But it's fun at the same time to be travelling, playing and getting accustomed to new conditions,” he said.

“Well, we just want to put the reasons aside and see to it how we would be planning to win. That's the chat going on inside the dressing room.”

India will need to adjust to New Zealand’s pace-friendly pitches and colder weather, particularly after playing much of their recent cricket at home. Iyer said the team was familiar with the challenge of adapting to different playing conditions.

“If you look at the conditions here, fast bowling suits here. It's not like the conditions are completely different. In England, the way we played, they had prepared wickets according to our batting,” he said.

“But on a given day, no one knows how the wicket will be. So, we will try to acclimatise as soon as possible. And once we have a good practice session, every individual will get a fair idea of how to plan.”

Iyer Acknowledges New Zealand’s Home Advantage

The India captain recognised that New Zealand would benefit from knowing the conditions and the characteristics of different pitches at home.

“Yeah, we've been playing consistently and there is a camaraderie in the team. And talking about the home conditions, the advantage they have is definitely knowing about what the conditions are on different wickets. So, that's the only difference,” he said.

Iyer also described the competition for places in India’s squad as a “sweet headache”, saying the team’s bench strength would push players to maintain consistent performances.

Iyer Unlikely to Move Up the Batting Order

On his own batting position, Iyer said he did not expect to move up the order, with Ishan Kishan performing well at No. 3. The captain, who has recently alternated between No. 4 and No. 5, said he was willing to bat wherever the team required him.

“I feel that with regards to the team demands in a particular situation, you should be flexible. And if you see here, there are a lot of batsmen who, lower down the order, can't be that destructive,” he said.

“I feel that I can bat at any number. It depends upon the situation, what is the situation of the game at that point.”

Referring to Kishan’s role during the previous T20I World Cup, Iyer said the wicketkeeper-batter had consistently occupied the No. 3 position.

“Now, if you see in the last World Cup, Kishan was consistently batting at number three, and he is a number one batsman right now. So, I don't foresee myself pushing myself up the order,” he said.

Iyer’s comments underline India’s preference for retaining a settled batting order while allowing players to compete for places through consistent performances. With the New Zealand series offering another test of the team’s depth and adaptability, Sooryavanshi will have to wait for his opportunity as India look to maintain their winning momentum.