Ajit Agarkar sees Vaibhav Sooryavanshi ready, seeks 'good reasons' to drop Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson

It is now only a matter of time for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi to make his debut for Team India in the T20 International format. The Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel has also kept an eye on the 15-year-old talent who surprised every cricket fan with his extremely aggressive batting style.

After the IPL 2026 season, Team India is scheduled to play multiple bilateral T20I series, the Asian Games, and the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. The selectors are in a challenging situation as there will be a limited number of cricketers in a full squad. Now the question is, against which player should the selectors pick Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in the T20I team?

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is all set to make his Team India debut

India is scheduled to tour Scotland followed by assignments against England, Zimbabwe, and the West Indies. Under the leadership of captain Suryakumar Yadav, with the guidance of the head coach Gautam Gambhir. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is a designated opener. Which means, to include the 15-year-old batter the selectors will have to drop one of the openers from the present side.

At present, Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, and Ishan Kishan are the three openers in the T20I team. As of now, it is unlikely to see Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in the team at the cost of either Sharma or Samson, or Kishan. Yashasvi Jaiswal is another contender to become a part of the team for the T20Is.

Who will be dropped to make room for the young batter?

"The selection committee is convinced that Vaibhav is ready but then you are talking about Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma, and Ishan Kishan. All three are half-centurions in the T20 World Cup final. If you take a fourth opener, then Yashasvi Jaiswal is also there," a source told NDTV.

Ahead of the Ireland tour, the board will have to ensure separate visas for all of its members. It is reported that instead of naming a 15-member squad, BCCI could select 17 players for the tour.

"Vaibhav is ready but national selectors need to give very good reasons to drop Abhishek or Sanju. Because if you drop either one, the question arises how Surya is keeping his place?" the source further added.

When will the 15-year-old make his debut for Team India?

In such a complicated situation, when will Vaibhav Sooryavanshi make his debut for Team India? The upcoming Asian Games is considered the probable stage for the batter to make a debut for the senior national cricket team. Even the series against Zimbabwe can be the moment for the Bihar-born.

"It could be the UK tour or Zimbabwe. But the best platform could be the Asian Games or the West Indies home series as these two are overlapping so there will be two T20 squads. Vaibhav will play one of the two if not earlier," the source said.

As of now, the budding talent's only duty is to carry the burning form in the IPL 2026 for the Rajasthan Royals and keep knocking on the selectors' doors.

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