Shreyas Iyer’s captaincy tenure began on a sour – and, frankly, surprising – note in Belfast over the weekend, where India slumped to their first-ever T20I series defeat to Ireland, and their first bilateral T20I series loss overall since going down to West Indies in 2023.

The defending T20 World Cup champions appeared well below their usual standards against a depleted Ireland side, who claimed memorable victories by 34 runs and one run respectively to script history. It was a result few saw coming, particularly given the gulf in resources and experience between the two teams.

Three days on from that setback, India head into a five-match T20I series in England with plenty of questions surrounding both their temperament and team balance. At the top of that list is a debate that refuses to go away: why has Vaibhav Sooryavanshi not made his international debut yet?

There was widespread condemnation in India, from fans, former players and sections of the media, after Gautam Gambhir’s team management chose not to pick the 15-year-old for either game in Ireland. Sooryavanshi earned his maiden India call-up after finishing as the leading run-scorer in IPL 2026 with 776 runs for Rajasthan Royals, while also breaking Chris Gayle’s record for the most sixes in a single IPL season.

Yet the teenage phenomenon could not find a place in India’s strongest XI, despite the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, who was rested, Hardik Pandya, who is injured, and Suryakumar Yadav, who was dropped. That decision is understandable to an extent, given that this team management has consistently rewarded players for sustained performances rather than making reactive selections based on hype or recent headlines.

To accommodate Sooryavanshi would have required a significant reshuffle of the batting order. Sanju Samson was Player of the Tournament at the T20 World Cup, Abhishek Sharma still has considerable credit in the bank, while Ishan Kishan has looked in outstanding touch in white-ball cricket. With Iyer returning to the side and occupying the No. 4 position, there simply did not appear to be an obvious vacancy.

Still, could India not have found a way to include arguably the biggest batting sensation in world cricket right now?

Several cricket pundits have argued that Gambhir and Iyer should have found room for Sooryavanshi purely on the strength of his extraordinary IPL campaign. Add to that his recent record-breaking innings for India A, when he smashed the fastest fifty in List A cricket history off just 11 deliveries during the series against Sri Lanka A, and the clamour becomes even harder to ignore.

Now, after both Samson and Kishan failed to make an impact in Ireland, the calls for Sooryavanshi’s inclusion in Wednesday’s series opener at Chester-le-Street have only grown louder. India need to do something to lift the mood after an embarrassing defeat in Belfast, and handing a debut to the most exciting young batter in the game may well provide exactly the spark they need.

While England are still coming to terms with the sudden retirement of Ben Stokes following their 2-1 Test series defeat to New Zealand, attention will now switch firmly to the T20Is. Harry Brook’s side reached the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup earlier this year, where two outstanding pieces of fielding from Axar Patel proved decisive as India booked their place in the final.

England remain one of the strongest T20 sides in the world, and the challenge awaiting India is significantly tougher than the one they encountered in Belfast. If Ireland exposed India’s complacency, England will ruthlessly punish any repeat of those mistakes.

There is also added pressure on Iyer himself. After losing his first two matches as captain following the selectors’ decision to replace Suryakumar, he finds himself under immediate scrutiny. Captains are judged quickly in Indian cricket, and Iyer knows victories are the only way to quieten the noise. Samson’s frustrating inconsistency continues to raise questions, while India’s middle order has yet to convince.

There are positives, however. Harshit Rana returns after missing the IPL through injury, Arshdeep Singh has shown encouraging form with the new ball, and Prince Yadav has emerged as another exciting fast-bowling option. Those three seamers are expected to feature prominently against England, with Axar leading the spin attack. Against an England batting line-up that bats deep and attacks relentlessly, India’s bowlers will have to be at their absolute best.

After the disappointment of Ireland, these five matches present India with an immediate opportunity to restore belief among their supporters. It is still very early in Iyer’s tenure as captain, but this series already feels significant. And as for Sooryavanshi’s long-awaited debut, the time now seems to have arrived.