Former Indian batter Subramaniam Badrinath has urged India to play Vaibhav Sooryavanshi ahead of Sanju Samson in the second T20I against England. Samson has returned with scores of 5, 0 and 1 in the last three T20I innings.

The Kerala batter was the star of the show for India in the 2026 T20 World Cup as he scored 321 runs in five matches at a strike rate of almost 200. He then had a decent IPL 2026 for Chennai Super Kings, scoring 477 runs in 14 games.

On the other hand, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has been in red-hot form, smashing 776 runs in 16 matches of IPL 2026 at a blistering strike rate of 237.30.

Badrinath said on his YouTube Channel, “Timing is very important for a player in form. He should be given a chance when he is in the form of his life. There is no use playing him when he’s not in form. Confidence is everything in sports and he is high on confidence right now. So he must play. Also, let’s not forget, Sanju Samson has been continuously failing since the T20 World Cup. He hasn’t done anything great since the World Cup.”

“Though I don’t advocate dropping Samson, it’s something to think about when an in-form Suryavanshi is sitting out.”

The former CSK batter reckons India lacked intent with the bat in the two T20Is against Ireland and thus backed Sooryavanshi’s selection in the playing XI.

“There was a lack of intent with the bat in the two losses against Ireland. That makes it all the more a reason for Team India to play Vaibhav Suryavanshi,” said Badrinath (via the aforementioned source).

The second T20I between India and England will be played at Old Trafford, Manchester, on Saturday.