‘Vaibhav Sooryavanshi breathing down his neck’: Manjrekar’s blunt warning to Sanju Samson

Sanju Samson (Image Agency) Former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar believes Sanju Samson cannot afford too many setbacks with young sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi waiting in the wings after India’s disappointing start to the T20I series against Ireland.Led by new T20I captain Shreyas Iyer, India suffered a 34-run defeat in the opening match of the two-match series in Belfast on Friday. The loss intensified calls for 15-year-old Sooryavanshi to make his international debut in the second and final T20I at the same venue on Sunday.To open the series, the Indian team management retained the opening pair of T20 World Cup 2026 heroes Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson, leaving Sooryavanshi on the bench. Whether the teenage batting prodigy will get an opportunity in the next game remains one of the biggest topics ahead of Sunday’s game.Samson, who was named the player of the tournament during India’s successful World T20 campaign earlier this year, failed to hit the mark against Ireland. The wicketkeeper-batsman managed just five runs off four deliveries before being dismissed.Speaking to Sony Sports Network after India’s defeat, Manjrekar said that both Samson and Abhishek Sharma need to stay on their toes due to increasing competition for the top-order spots.“But Sanju Samson has to be careful because Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is breathing down his neck and Abhishek Sharma,” Manjrekar said on Sony Sports Network.Despite the support of Sooryavanshi’s immense talent, Manjrekar felt that the youngster alone would not be able to change the outcome of the opening game. He explained that the difficult chase required an explosive start and sustained momentum, making the task uphill regardless of who opened the innings.“I think he would have done what Abhishek did, maybe a bit better. A chase where you had to do everything in the first six overs. You had to carry that momentum into the remaining overs. So he could have made things a bit easier in the chase, but the target was just too big and the conditions weren’t easy. And you saw in the tri-series how often they came at him in Damjbulla,” he said.The former India batsman also pointed out that Sooryavanshi experienced similar problems during the tri-series in Dambulla, where it consistently proved difficult to clear the ropes. While he believes the youngster could have made a difference during the power-play, Manjrekar maintained that there is currently no vacancy at the top of India’s batting order.“And I’m very glad you know I’ve also said it earlier that people have got an idea of ​​how sixes are not that easy to hit. So Vaibhav would have done it in the first six overs but he’d also have his work cut out for him later on. And to answer your question, I don’t think it would make much of a difference unless you want to play him in the middle order, but he’s not down the order, but he’s not there. I think there’s some room,” he added.