- ‘Vaibhav Sooryavanshi can’t come in yet’ – Shreyas Iyer backs regular Indian openers Indian T20 ctain Shreyas Iyer has explained why Vaibhav Sooryavanshi will not open in the New Zealand series despite his recent form.
- ‘Vaibhav Sooryavanshi can’t come in yet’ – Shreyas Iyer backs India’s first regular matches (Credit: Ranjith Kumar/NurPhoto via ) India’s five-match T20I series against New Zealand begins on October 22, 2026, and the touring team faces a demanding schedule that includes five ODIs and two Tests until November.
- Shreyas Iyer stands alongside Tilak Varma as his deputy.
‘Vaibhav Sooryavanshi can’t come in yet’ – Shreyas Iyer backs regular Indian openers Indian T20 ctain Shreyas Iyer has explained why Vaibhav Sooryavanshi will not open in the New Zealand series despite his recent form.
‘Vaibhav Sooryavanshi can’t come in yet’ – Shreyas Iyer backs India’s first regular matches (Credit: Ranjith Kumar/NurPhoto via ) India’s five-match T20I series against New Zealand begins on October 22, 2026, and the touring team faces a demanding schedule that includes five ODIs and two Tests until November. Shreyas Iyer stands alongside Tilak Varma as his deputy. The composition of India’s opening partnership attracted attention even before the first game, especially given the emergence of teenage talent Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.
Iyer answered the couple’s opening question on Wednesday, a day before the series begins. He confirmed that Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma will continue to be India’s opening batsmen in the T20I format. Since being picked for the England and Ireland tour earlier this year, Sooryavanshi has featured in eight of the 21 T20Is India have taken part in so far, while regular openers Abhishek and Samson have performed consistently well.
“It is important that a talent like him (Sooryavanshi) is always active in the dressing room,” Iyer said on the eve of a five-match series, as quoted by Outlook. “He is very young, he still has years to get opportunities. “It’s not like he can go in now because our fly-halves score regularly and they won the World Cup,” he added.
Both Samson and Sharma played key roles in India’s defense of their T20I World Cup title earlier this year. At the Asian Games, Samson dropped to third to accommodate Sooryavanshi, allowing the youngster to open the round. However, Iyer believes the young man’s exposure to conditions abroad will help him better prepare for future deployments.
Sooryavanshi made his T20I debut against England in July 2026, becoming the youngest Indian to play international cricket. Since then, he has peared in eight T20Is and has amassed 246 runs with two half-centuries at an average of 30.75. During the Zimbabwe series in late July 2026, he became the overall top scorer with two fifties, including 50 from 19 balls in the opening match.
“So if you see, when he comes overseas he will have a good idea of how to bowl on these particular wickets. The next time he comes under these conditions he will be very well prepared. And he can also teach other team members, no matter who comes here for the first time,” Iyer said.
