Vaibhav Sooryavanshi on the bench: Why India's bold T20I vision feels incomplete

India's T20I skipper Shreyas Iyer faced a difficult decision when it came to selecting players for the upcoming series against Afghanistan. He had to choose between Sanju Samson, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, and Abhishek Sharma. While Samson brings experience to the team, Sooryavanshi offers a more aggressive approach. The two faced off in a practice session, with Sooryavanshi taking some aerial catches and Samson lining up for wicketkeeping duties. Both players maintained a composed demeanor during the session.

Coach Gautam Gambhir poked fun at Samson's wicketkeeping gloves, but both kept their expressions stoic. Ishan Kishan, another wicketkeeping option, spoke with batting coach Sitanshu Kotak for an extended period. The toss saw Iyer announce that Sooryavanshi, Washington Sundar, and two other players were not in the playing XI. He explained that his decision was not an easy one, but if Sooryavanshi wasn't playing, then Sundar would also be absent, along with two other players yet to be revealed.

Samson's brief 10-run innings was halted by Azmatullah Omarzai, who also provided catching practice for Darwish Rasooli at deep square leg. Abhishek Sharma, who scored 32 runs off 32 balls, was the standout performer in the first innings. Sharma's performance earned him the Player of the Match award. As the top-order struggled against the spinners, Varun Chakravarthy praised India's batting lineup for their resilience against spin bowling. He emphasized the difficulty of facing spinners while batting for India's top eight players.