Three-time T20 world champions India suffered another defeat on their ongoing tour of England, with the hosts securing a 56-run victory in the fifth and final T20I to complete a 4-0 series win. It was
India’s sixth defeat in their last seven matches, with the remaining game abandoned midway due to rain.
Their poor run includes a first-ever T20I series defeat to Ireland, leaving the Shreyas Iyer-led side under scrutiny over team selection, batting failures and sub-standard fielding.
One of the major talking points since the Ireland series has been Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. His debut was initially delayed and, when it finally came, it was at the expense of Sanju Samson, who was dropped after failing to score in three consecutive innings.
Samson’s omission drew criticism, particularly as he had produced a player-of-the-tournament-winning performance in the 2026 T20 World Cup. Interestingly, he returned to the playing XI for the fifth T20I after Sooryavanshi failed to make an impression in his three appearances.
However, it was not Sooryavanshi‘s modest returns that led to him being left out of the dead rubber in Bristol on Saturday.
Sooryavanshi’s inclusion had left India with a top seven featuring six left-handed batters, with captain Iyer the only right-hander. To add variety to the batting line-up, the team brought back Samson.
“We needed to try the best combination that would be perfect in these conditions,” Iyer told reporters on Saturday when asked why Sooryavanshi was benched. “And we also wanted a right-hander to go on with Abhishek (Sharma). So that was one of the major reasons.”
“I was the only one out of all the left-handers who’s a right-hander. So we wanted to try a different combination, which would be suitable for this particular game. And he’s a gun batsman. He has won so many series for us in the past,” he added.
How Sooryavanshi Fared In England?
Sooryavanshi showed glimpses of why he was given a historic international call-up during the three games that he played against England. On debut, he struck two sixes before being stumped on 14 off 10 of the bowling of Will Jacks.
In his second innings, the 15-year-old again cleared the boundary twice before falling to his IPL teammate Jofra Archer on 13 off 5. Archer got the better of Sooryavanshi again after the teenager had struck a four and a six to reach 15 off 9 in the penultimate fixture.
