The BCCI have issued a warning to Indian openers Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Abhishek Sharma in middle of England T20I series due to their inconsistent form.
Published: July 10, 2026, 11:37 AM IST
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Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has only managed 42 runs in 3 innings vs England. (Photo: IANS)
India vs England 2026 4th T20: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Abhishek Sharma are one of the most explosive opening combination in world cricket on paper. But after the last three T20I matches against England – since Sooryavanshi’s debut last week – the reality and returns are far from satisfactory. The 15-year-old Indian prodigy Sooryavanshi has a best score of 15 – in the 4th T20 in Bristol – as his best innings in international cricket with 13 and 14 in the last two matches.
Although Sooryavanshi has managed to hit 5 sixes in his brief international career, he has only managed to scored 42 runs in 3 innings. The Rajasthan Royals opener is capable of much more as he showed in IPL 2026 season where he became the youngest-ever cricketer to win an Orange Cap after notching up 776 runs at a strike-rate of 237.3.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) took a huge gamble by calling up Sooryavanshi into international cricket but have issued a big warning to him as well as his opening partner Abhishek Sharma in the middle of England T20I series. Shreyas Iyer’s Indian side have already lost their second successive series after going down by nine wickets in the 4th T20I match in Bristol on Thursday.
According to ANI news agency, a BCCI source has acknowledged that the “six-hitting ability of Abhishek and Sooryavanshi is great but needs to be controlled.”
VAIBHAV SOORYAVANSHI GONE
ITS ARCHER AGAIN…..
INDIA ARE NOW 23 / 1 AGAINST ENGLAND pic.twitter.com/U7pUbIfc7b
— U M A R (@Maaalik9) July 9, 2026
Sooryavanshi became the youngest-ever Indian debutant at the age of 15 years and 99 days, beating the record of Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar, who had made his debut at the age of 16 years and 205 days vs Pakistan in a Test in Karachi in 1989.
The Bihar opener, who was retained for Rs 1.1 crore by Rajasthan Royals before IPL 2026 season, smashed one century and 5 fifties this year which included record 72 sixes.
Former India wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel also questioned the call to drop Sanju Samson to bring in Vaibhav Sooryavanshi into the T20I side. “Why is it always Sanju Samson who misses out? If you look at Sanju Samson’s career over the last 11-12 years, the one question that has always followed him is consistency. In 12 years, there has been just one IPL season in which he scored over 500 runs. Even in international cricket, he either blows hot or cold. And when it comes to selection, that factor always comes into play,” Parthiv Patel said on JioStar’s ‘Game Plan’ show.
“Either the player who isn’t scoring quickly enough gets left out, or the one who has been inconsistent. You can’t make decisions based on both emotion and logic. So emotionally, yes, it was the right call to give Vaibhav Sooryavanshi a chance. But if you go purely by logic, then why has Sanju Samson been left out? So, I think this decision was taken emotionally,” Parthiv added.
In his IPL career so far, Sooryavanshi has scored 1,028 runs in 23 matches and innings at an average of 44.69 and a strike rate of 228.95, with two centuries and six fifties and a best score of 103. He has already smashed 96 sixes.
World No. 2 T20I batter Abhishek Sharma has fared slightly better against England. After scores of 49 and 0 against Ireland lat month, the Sunrisers Hyderabad opener managed 59 and 43 in the first two T20I matches but has trailed off with 10 and 16 in the next two games.
