Former Indian wicket-keeper bat Saba Karim reckons Vaibhav Sooryavanshi should not replace Sanju Samson in T20I series against England. Samson returned with scores of 5 and 0 on the Ireland tour and was dismissed after scoring one run off seven balls in the first T20I against England at Riverside Ground, Chester-le-Street on Wednesday.
Samson had scored 321 runs in five matches of the T20 World Cup 2026 and played a key role in taking India to glory. Furthermore, Samson had a decent run in IPL 2026, scoring 477 runs in 14 matches for Chennai Super Kings.
Karim said Samson is a proven match-winner and he must get the team’s backing.
“I don’t think so at this stage. Sanju Samson is a fabulous player. He has been a match-winner. He had a very good IPL season. Before that, he was the Player of the Tournament in the T20 World Cup. What are we looking at? Sanju Samson would be thinking, ‘Why is everyone pointing the gun at me?’” Saba Karim said on Star Sports show Follow the Blues.
The former Indian gloveman said Sooryavanshi needs to earn his place and bide his team with the Indian team.
“Even for Vaibhav Suryavanshi, this is a good learning curve. He also gets to understand that to get into this Indian team XI, you have to earn your call-up. This environment will help him to grow as a player and as a human being. Although he has got such an incredible amount of talent, when you get into such a competitive environment, you need to bide your time,” Saba observed.
On the other hand, former Indian Test batter Cheteshwar Pujara said being part of India’s T20I squad is a big moment and a great learning curve for Sooryavanshi.
“This is a massive opportunity for him. He might not have got a chance in the playing XI, but he is part of the Indian team. It’s a big thing if you are in the 15-member squad, and it’s a dream-come-true moment for him. When he gets a chance in the playing XI, it will be an even bigger moment than that,” he said.
Pujara, India’s number three Test batter, agreed with Karim that Sooryavanshi needs to wait for his chance with the national team.
“However, as Saba bhai was saying, he will have to wait for his opportunity. It’s a big, big positive for Vaibhav Suryavanshi that he is part of the squad. He gets to train with the players. He gets to be in that team environment where there are coaches and senior players around him whom he can learn from. He is an exceptional talent, but he will have to wait a little for that opportunity,” Pujara observed.
