Will Vaibhav Sooryavanshi play the India vs England first T20I? Shreyas Iyer reveals

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, a 15-year-old batting sensation, has been selected in the India T20I squad. He is currently touring England with Team India for a 5-match T20I series. Before this series, he was also part of the Indian squad in Ireland, but did not get a chance in the playing XI. Unfortunately, India lost that series too 0-2, where Team India's batting disappointed a lot. After which the demand for Vaibhav's inclusion in the playing XI for the England series has become even stronger.

The first T20I match between India and England will be played on 1 July in Chester-le-Street, where everyone wants to see Vaibhav playing. But will he get a chance in the first T20I? A day before the match, a pre-match press conference was held where captain Shreyas Iyer responded on his playing. When a reporter asked him, "It is very difficult for the coach and captain, this Vaibhav, Vaibhav is going everywhere (Very difficult for the coach with all the hype going on around Sooryavanshi)," a reporter asked.

"I am not seeing any such thing. Really, I don't know. Neither do I follow news, nor do I follow what is going on in social media, Instagram. I have not heard anything," Iyer respond. 

Shreyas Iyer furthermore stated that he does not want to reveal his combinations to his opponent before the match. 

"You never know what is going to happen," he said in the pre-match press conference on Tuesday. "Our hands are tied right now in terms of what we will do. This is private. It's something we discuss within the team. We can't reveal our combination to the opponents."

"Everyone on the team has performed. It's not just one person. We need to build confidence and provide chances for each player so that everyone feels good going into the tournaments. The players who helped India win the T20 World Cup understand the format; they have been essential. So, it's important to support them."

T20I Skipper also hailed Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s achievement, calling him an exceptional talent. 

"Definitely, he is a brilliant talent. When he gets a chance to play, he will certainly excel."  

The 5-match T20I series between England, the hosts, and India, the visitors, will be played from July 1 to 11. This series will play a very important role in India's LA Olympics 2028 qualification.