Why is Vaibhav Sooryavanshi not playing 1st IND vs WI T20I?
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Vaibhav Sooryavanshi played in the Asian Games final against Pakistan.
India are set to face the West Indies in the first T20I of the five-match series at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow. The Men in Blue won the toss, and they decided to bowl first.
India won the recently concluded ODI series 2-1 against the Caribbean side; meanwhile, the T20I side, led by Shreyas Iyer and his deputy, Tilak Varma, successfully defended their gold medal at the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan. After beating Sri Lanka one-sidedly in the semi-final, they stunned Pakistan by 20 runs to win the gold medal at the men’s cricket event.
It feels like Shreyas Iyer has settled as the Men in Blue’s skipper after having a shaky start to his run following a 2-0 defeat against Ireland. Under Iyer’s captaincy, India lost six of their seven opening games; however, they are currently riding a nine-game winning streak.
Meanwhile, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s omission from the playing line-up against West Indies has again made fans wonder about the reason for his absence.
Why did Vaibhav Sooryavanshi miss 1st IND vs WI T20I?
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Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is missing the game due to the coach’s and captain’s tactical preferences. Gautam Gambhir and Shreyas Iyer preferred to give a chance to Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma because they offer more balance to the team, courtesy of their experience of representing the nation in the big leagues.
The 15-year-old has played a total of eight T20Is for the Men in Blue, where he has scored 246 runs while maintaining an average of 30.75 with a strike rate of 186. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has also scored two half-centuries for India, and his highest score has been 81.
However, fans might get to see the 15-year-old in the remaining games of the ongoing series against the West Indies. The Men in Blue will travel to Ranchi, Indore, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru in the other four remaining games, and Sooryavanshi is likely to get a chance to play in at least one.
When did Vaibhav Sooryavanshi play his last game?
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi played against Pakistan in the Asian Games final last week.
How many runs did Vaibhav Sooryavanshi score at the Asian Games 2026?
Playing two games at the continental competition in Japan, Sooryavanshi scored a total of 53 runs and faced 30 deliveries.
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