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Sanju Samson has been dropped from the playing eleven for the second of the five-match T20I series against England. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, 15, is named in the team as the replacement for Samson.
Ahead of the match, when the team line-ups were disclosed, Sanju Samson was spotted in an animated chat with the head coach, Gautam Gambhir. Near the boundary ropes of the Old Trafford cricket ground in Manchester, Gambhir was saying something to the experienced opener.
Sanju Samson dropped; Vaibhav Sooryavanshi made his Team India debut
Samson, hands on his waist and head down, ardently listening to Gautam Gambhir. It is unclear what the head coach said to the dropped opener, but it could be to support the batter who just lost his place to an emerging 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.
The change is understandable. Sanju Samson was the first-choice opener for India, but he failed to deliver in three consecutive matches; two against Ireland and one against England. As a result, he has been dropped from the playing combination in Manchester tonight.
Watch the animated chat between Sanju Samson and Gautam Gambhir here:
Good to see Gautam Gambhir having a chat with Sanju Samson. That's always one thing you need from the management. pic.twitter.com/woihQi2l82
— Pitch Perfect (@_pitch__perfect) July 4, 2026
Why is Sanju Samson dropped from the playing eleven?
In his last three matches for the Indian cricket team, the 31-year-old batter scored 5 and 0 against Ireland in the first and second T20Is, respectively, and was dismissed for only 1 against England in the opener of the ongoing series in Durham.
The repeated flop shows from Samson's bat became one of the main reasons for the Indian team management to hand Vaibhav Sooryavanshi his debut cap for the senior national cricket team in the T20I format. Sooryavanshi made his debut at the age of only 15, breaking Sachin Tendulkar's record, who made his Team India debut at the age of 16.
Youngest to debut in International cricket (Full Member teams)
14y 227d - Hasan Raza (PAK) vs ZIM, Faisalabad, 1996
15y 99d - Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (IND) vs ENG, Manchester, 2026*
15y 116d - Mohammad Sharif (BAN) vs ZIM, Harare, 2001
15y 124d - Mushtaq Mohammad (PAK) vs WI, Lahore, 1959
16y 127d - Aaqib Javed (PAK) vs WI, Adelaide, 1988
16y 205d - Sachin Tendulkar (IND) vs PAK, Karachi, 1989
A challenging day for England as Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is in action
The entire cricket world was waiting for the debut of the wonder kid, and that finally happened, that too against a strong side like England, in England. Ahead of the series, England keeper-batter Jos Buttler mentioned that at some point of the 5-match T20I series, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi would make his debut, so he asked his teammates to prepare mentally for the hard hitter.
At the toss, England captain Harry Brook mentioned the same. They came here, at the Old Trafford cricket ground, with a strategy to dismiss the emerging batter as early as possible in the match.
" Yeah, we've done a little bit. We've got some tactical decisions to... We've been thinking about tactical decisions. It's just about executing when we're out there," Harry Brook said.
