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"When will he be unleashed?": Ex-South African power hitter questions Sooryavanshi's lengthy absence
Former South Africa cricketer AB de Villiers has shown dissent over India's decision to put batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's India debut on hold despite the young kid being in blistering form. The fearless star was picked in India's squad for the T20I series against Ireland and England following a resounding campaign at the IPL 2026, where he blasted 776 runs in 16 matches.
Vaibhav could not make his India debut during the Ireland T20Is after the management decided to put faith in the opening combination of Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson. And he was once again benched in the opening T20I against England, with the same set of players getting a nod. Now, de Villiers has raised questions as to when Sooryavanshi will be unleashed.
"When will he be unleashed? I thought the Ireland series was the perfect opportunity for him to come in and get a feel for international cricket. It was unfortunate that he never got an opportunity," de Villiers said on his YouTube channel.
"I beg to differ with Ryan Ten Doeschate, saying Suryavanshi has to go through the process like any other player. After the IPL he had, it was time to throw him into the deep end, especially against a lower team like Ireland,ā he added.
"There is some work to do for Team India. They need to regroup, reset, and find a method to play in the UK. It's not easy under those conditions, where the scores aren't like they are in the IPL. You don't get to the 250s and 260s there. It is more strategic and tactical out there, where sometimes 140 or 160 is enough," he concluded.
Notably, India crashed to a crushing 2-0 series defeat against Ireland, and their first T20I against England was washed out following excessive rainfall. India will meet England in the second T20I of the five-match series on Saturday.
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