"You Told Him To Serve Water": Team India Grilled Over Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's Delayed Debut
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi warmed the bench on the tour of Ireland before making his India debut against England.
After being made to warm the bench against Zimbabwe, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi made his senior India debut on the tour of England. Though the start of his career didn't go as planned, Sooryavanshi did take learnings out of the experience and used them against Zimbabwe, where he was named the Player of the Series. Yet, former India batter Mohammad Kaif feels Sooryavanshi was unfairly denied a debut on the Ireland tour. He targeted the Indian team management for not using the 15-year-old straight after an extraordinary Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Kaif targeted the Indian team management over their decision to hold back Sooryavanshi's debut, saying it is baffling that those in charge wanted the explosive teenage batter to "serve water first".
"Vaibhav is an X-factor player. He made a reputation for himself. His bat did the talking in the IPL despite him being in the spotlight. He didn't just perform in one or two matches. He won the Orange Cap. He should have played in Ireland; the nervousness would have gone in that case. He would have reached England and performed well," Kaif said on his YouTube channel.
"He was having a rich vein of form behind him; he had won the Orange Cap. But you told him you serve water first. He's a special player; you could have played him directly in Ireland. He should have gotten special treatment. If he played in Ireland, he would not have had any nervousness in the UK," he added.
Kaif also questioned the management over the decision to drop Sooryavanshi after an unsuccessful start with the bat on the England tour. He feels the decision made life tough for the teenage batter.
"He didn't perform well in England; you dropped him. Sooryavanshi was playing against Archer. He hasn't played in India yet, but I am sure he will score a lot of runs when he plays here. Sooryavanshi's India journey was tough; it could have been made easier," said Kaif.
"It was made tough for him. He's a special talent; you shouldn't have dropped him. You should have played him in Ireland. Now see, against Zimbabwe, he won the Player of the Series award," he added.
India Cricket Team