Batsman Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is speechless after calls to drop him for disciplinary reasons

Sanjay Manjrekar sparked a heated debate across the cricket fraternity by suggesting that teenage prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi should have been dropped as punishment ahead of India A’s tri-series clash against Afghanistan A in Dambulla on Wednesday 17 June.

The former Indian commentator took to social media after an ugly on-field altercation during the ongoing Tri-Nation A series in Sri Lanka. Tensions simmered after Sri Lanka A secured a dramatic Super Over victory earlier in the week, television footage captured 15-year-old Sooryavanshi pounces on the opponent and physically pushes him He wears Halambage.

There were reports that Halambage had been relentlessly goading the young opener, muttering at one point, “Go home, this is not the IPL.” While many fans and pundits defended the youngster and questioned Sri Lanka A’s choice to bowl the minor, several others slammed Sooryavanshi for losing his cool. Manjrekar firmly aligned himself with the latter camp, making it clear that a player’s bat cannot speak when the boundaries of discipline are crossed. He wrote on X:

India A vs Afghanistan A Update

“If I were India’s coach or manager, I would have left Vaibhav Suryavanshi in this match against AFG. Just to let him know that it is not okay to get physical on the field. No matter the provocations.” Screengrab by X

VAIBHAV WORKS ANOTHER START

Sooryavanshi, who ended up being retained in the XI on Wednesday, found himself in the limelight for his cricketing output where a familiar story unfolded. The left-hander hit a sharp 38 off 28 deliveries against Afghanistan A, providing a characteristically brisk start, before discarding his wicket without converting it into a major milestone. It was a tough outing for Sooryavanshi when he was lucky as half chances were not converted by the Afghanistan A fielders.

This tour quickly turned into a rigorous test of the teenager’s adaptability. After nearly three consecutive months immersed in the maximum intensity environment of T20 cricket, the shift to the patient demands of the 50-over format is proving to be a steep learning curve. In his four tournament outings so far, he has posted scores of 14, 44, 21 and 38, showing undeniable fluency, but has repeatedly fallen short of the maiden half-century.

After the unbridled euphoria of IPL 2026, where he rewrote the record books to win the Orange Cap and MVP awards, this tri-series serves as a timely reminder of the diverse challenges of international cricket.

The technical and emotional lessons learned in Dambulla will need to be absorbed quickly. Later this month, Sooryavanshi is expected to join the senior national squad for a tour of the UK that will include two T20Is in Ireland and five in England, where he could potentially overtake Sachin Tendulkar as India’s youngest debutant. For the prodigy, tempering his explosive instincts with tactical discipline remains the final frontier.

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Issued by:

Akshay Ramesh

Published on:

17 Jun 2026 17:13 IST