Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s much-awaited T20 debut may have been delayed, but former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar believes the talented 15-year-old is already troubling first-choice openers Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma, especially the former. Manjrekar’s comments came after India suffered a crushing defeat against Ireland in the first match of the two-match T20 series, their first defeat to the Irish team in any format.

Some experts and fans expected Suryavanshi to get his first cap on Friday, June 26. However, the team management and newly appointed captain Shreyas Iyer opted to retain the T20 World Cup-winning opening pair of Samson and Abhishek for the opening match of the series. Iyer told that he did not want to tamper with the winning combination Assuring that the time of Suryavanshi will come Sooner rather than later.

Nevertheless, there is a compelling case for Kishor’s inclusion after the Indian batting unit’s spectacular collapse in Belfast. Chasing 183 runs,Isiters collapsed for just 148 runs in 18.5 overs.. Samson failed to make any progress and was dismissed by left-arm fast bowler Jai Mundhra in the very first over. Although Samson hit a four, the left-arm angle destroyed him early on – a recurring technical flaw that continues to trouble the Kerala wicketkeeper-batsman.

While Abhishek Sharma provided a lone spark with a blistering half-century in 19 balls, the rest of the line-up collapsed. Captain Shreyas was out on 3 runs, while vice-captain Tilak Verma could score only 19 runs.

“Sanju Samson needs to be careful because Vaibhav Suryavanshi is killing him and Abhishek Sharma,” Manjrekar told Sony Sports in his post-match analysis.

Despite the ups and downs, the team management is hopeful of giving long-term responsibility to Samson and Abhishek. Abhishek has been one of India’s most consistent performers in the shortest format, while Samson has been a standout performer in the recent T20 World Cup, where he played match-winning innings in both the semi-final and final against New Zealand.

Vaibhav heads to Ireland on the back of his record-breaking 94 off 29 balls for India A in the tri-series final against Sri Lanka A in Dambulla earlier this month. The wonder kid also won the IPL 2026 Orange Cap, scoring 776 runs, including a record-breaking tally of 72 sixes.

Not easy for Suryavanshi?

Interestingly, Manjrekar recently supported the decision to drop Suryavanshi from the opening match of the series despite his record-breaking form. The cricketer turned commentator said that the Belfast surface was far from heaven for batting, suggesting that the wide boundary dimensions would have tested the young player.

Manjrekar said, “I think he would have done the same thing that Abhishek did, maybe a little better. Chasing the target, you had to do everything in the first six overs. You had to carry that pace in the remaining overs as well. So he could have made things a little easier while chasing, but the target became too big and the conditions were not easy. And you also saw in the tri-series in Dambulla how he was not getting sixes very often.”

“And it was a reminder, and I’m very glad you know I’ve said this before, that people have come to realize that hitting sixes is not that easy. So Vaibhav could manage it in the first six overs, but later on he had to work his way up. And to answer your question, I don’t think it would have made a difference unless you wanted to play him in the lower order. The middle order, there’s some room there, but at the top, I don’t think there’s any there.” Place,” he added.

When India take on Ireland in the second and final T20 match on Sunday, June 28, they will be eyeing to restore parity and level the series. Whether the team management hands Suryavanshi an international debut or not will remain a big point of discussion before the match. Following the Belfast assignment, India are scheduled to travel across the Irish Sea for a five-match T20I series against England starting on July 1.

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