Why is Vaibhav Sooryavanshi not playing ENG vs IND 1st T20I in Chester-le-Street?

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has not yet made his debut for India.

India are clashing with England in the 1st T20I on Wednesday, July 1, at Riverside Ground in Chester-le-Street. During India’s tour of England 2026, both sides will play a total of five T20Is and three ODIs.

Following their horrible T20I series defeat against Ireland, the Men in Blue will aim for a big comeback in the ENG vs IND campaign.

Under newly appointed T20I captain Shreyas Iyer, India lost both matches against Ireland, with the latter scripting history with their first-ever T20I win and series victory against the World Champions.

Similarly, England also suffered a big setback against New Zealand at home, but in the longest format. They lost a three-match Test series 2-1, despite winning the first encounter.

Now, they need to showcase impressive form against India; otherwise, it will be another disappointment for England Cricket and their fans.

In the 1st T20I between India and England, Shreyas Iyer won the toss and opted to bat first. Moreover, young gun Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is not part of India’s playing XI in the encounter. He did not play against Ireland either.

Why is Vaibhav Sooryavanshi absent from ENG vs IND 1st T20I?

Notably, Sooryavanshi has once again been overlooked for the match. India have retained Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma as openers and did not allow Vaibhav to make his international debut.

Speaking at the toss, Indian skipper Shreyas Iyer said, “We are going with bat first. Ireland is history. It’s a new series, five games, everything to play for. Certainly, this is a great opportunity for us. This is my first, second actually, second series as a captain. So, pretty much excited. We got what we wanted. We got a session of practice over here yesterday, pretty much acclimatized to the surrounding as well. So, looking forward for an exciting one”.

Revealing the playing XI, he added, “There’s a pretty decent amount of grass on the wicket. We practiced yesterday as well on the same one. So, can’t actually predict how the wicket’s going to play, but definitely the intent is going to be high. [On India’s team combination for the opening match] We are going with three spinners, with Axar being an all-rounder, and two seamers”.

India’s playing XI vs ENG for 1st T20I: Sanju Samson (WK), Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer (C), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy.

Meanwhile, the last clash between India and England took place in March during the T20 World Cup 2026. India defeated England by seven runs in a close-fought semi-final game and later won the title by crushing New Zealand in the final.

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