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The India National Cricket Team will be up against the England National Cricket Team on Wednesday, at the Banks Homes Riverside, Durham. Shreyas Iyer’s side will be playing a five-match T20I series with the Three Lions; ahead of that, they suffered a hefty defeat against Ireland, losing the series 2-0 for the first time, which was a tough start to Iyer’s captaincy tenure.
Team India will look to bounce back from the shocking series loss and win the series in England. Ahead of the 1st T20I against England, captain Shreyas Iyer has been doing the pre-match press conference, where he has answered the most discussed question about why Vaibhav Sooryavanshi did not feature in the series against Ireland, despite his current form.
"It's not that only one individual has performed well"- Shreyas Iyer backs India batters despite poor show
Shreyas Iyer was asked how challenging it is to manage a player like Vaibhav Sooryavanshi who is sitting on the bench? He replied that all the players who played in Ireland have done well in the previous T20 World Cup 2026, and the team management is giving every player opportunities and a sense of security.
Iyer said, "Look, all the players in the team have performed well. It's not that only one individual has performed well. But we have to build an environment of opportunity and security so that everyone has confidence going forward into the tournaments."
Shreyas Iyer’s response when he was asked why Vaibhav Suryavanshi is still on the bench despite scoring so many runs:
"Everyone currently playing in the team has performed well. It’s not just Vaibhav Suryavanshi who has delivered performances. We want to provide every player… pic.twitter.com/KwqsmOFRnM— 𝐑𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐢𝐢⁴⁵ (@rushiii_12) June 30, 2026
"And those who won the last World Cup definitely have an idea of how to play T20 cricket. They have continuously been the main pillars of that format. So, it's very important to back them."
"This is very private"- Shreyas Iyer provides update on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's debut
Shreyas gave an official update on whether Vaibhav Sooryavanshi will play in the England series. He was seen batting for long hours in Ireland and also in Durham ahead of the match. However, Iyer did not reveal India's plans ahead of the match.
Shreyas Iyer stated, "See, you never know what is going to happen. Our hands are also tied at the moment in terms of what we are going to do. Because this is very private. This is something that we discuss in the team."
"We can't let everyone know about what combination we are going to play and let the opponents know that this is going to happen. Definitely, he is a brilliant prodigy. And whenever he gets an opportunity to play, definitely he will do brilliant."
Will Vaibhav Sooryavanshi make his debut against England?
However, as per reports from RevSportz, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi looked in excellent touch during India's training session ahead of the match. The boy wonder was seen batting alongside Samson in the adjacent nets. Is that a sign that Vaibhav will be opening with Samson, or will the former be playing with Abhishek Sharma, shifting Samson to No. 3?
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi had a stellar TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 for Rajasthan Royals (RR), scoring 776 runs in the tournament and winning the Orange Cap and becoming the youngest to achieve the award.
Sooryavanshi was also the Most Valuable Player (MVP) for his exceptional performance throughout the tournament. He also played well in the List A matches in the recently concluded Tri-Series competition in Sri Lanka, where he smacked 94 runs off 29 deliveries in the final.
