Why did Vaibhav Sooryavanshi miss second IRE vs IND T20I in Belfast?
(Courtesy : BCCI)
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi did not play in the previous game too.
India and Ireland are clashing in the second T20I of two-match series on Sunday, June 28, at Civil Services Club in Belfast. The hosts lead the series 1-0 after winning the opening game by 34 runs. They scripted history by bagging their first-ever victory against India in T20I cricket.
In the second IRE vs IND clash, India captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss and opted to bowl first, keeping in mind the weather conditions. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who did not play in the previous game, yet again was not part of the playing XI.
The left-handed batter earned his maiden national call-up for the series following his heroics in IPL 2026, where he hammered 776 runs. Winning the Orange Cap in his second season, the Bihar batter stole the limelight with his performance. He also played a match-winning knock in the final of Tri-Nation Series in Sri Lanka 2026 final earlier this month, leading India to victory against Sri Lanka A.
Why is Vaibhav Sooryavanshi not playing IND vs IRE 2nd T20I?
Sooryavanshi has been overlooked for the clash once again. Iyer revealed at the toss that India have made two changes, handing debut to Suryansh Shedge and Prince Yadav. Both of them also earned their national call-up in the series. Moreover, senior pacer Prasidh Krishna was dropped for the game due to his expensive spell in the previous clash.
Speaking about his decision to bowl first, Iyer said, “We’re going to bowl first considering the weather condition. It can pour any time, so we want to maximize the advantage of it. [On what he wants his side to do differently after Friday’s defeat while chasing] I think the trend is it’s just important to adapt to the conditions as quickly as possible.
And they were pretty smart in terms of making bowling changes and also scoring off the back foot and front foot, clearing right in the front. So it’s important that we play smart cricket rather than having a set pattern and see to it that we back our instincts as well at the same time”.
Revealing the changes in the playing XI, he said, “Yeah, we’ve got two changes. Suryansh Shedge and Prince Yadav come in. Both are making the debut. So these are the two changes we’ve made. [On debutant Shedge] He’s a powerful, destructive batter. Yes, he’s a sensational youngster who has been scoring runs in the domestic cricket and also in the IPL. He’s got tremendous amount of experience in the youth cricket”.
India’s XI vs 2nd IRE vs IND T20I
Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Suryansh Shedge, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav.
Is Vaibhav Sooryavanshi part of IND vs IRE 2nd T20I?
No, he is not part of the match as he has been overlooked once again.
Who won the toss in IND vs IRE 2nd T20I?
India won the toss and chose to bowl first in the encounter.
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Vikas Singh Derek is a core cricket-lover since childhood and has always followed the sport both in his personal and professional life. He started his school life by watching cricket at home with family. Later, he played cricket on the field at local clubs during college. After his Master's in Journalism from Mumbai, he followed his passion by covering cricket news across various digital media. Since 2015, he has been an aspiring sports journalist and cricket content writer with over 50K+ articles.