Vaibhav Sooryavanshi sends a two-word message after sitting out 4 consecutive matches ahead of IND vs WI 5th T20I

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has been benched for all four T20Is against the West Indies, with India preferring the opening combination of Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma.India head coach Gautam Gambhir backed the current opening pair and said dropping either Samson or Abhishek to accommodate Sooryavanshi would be unfair. He pointed to Samson’s ability and past performances, including his Player of the Tournament award at the World Cup.“I think Samson has shown what he’s capable of. You don’t become player of the tournament at the World Cup without talent, so he’s done a lot. Obviously it was difficult – probably the hardest decision I’ve made in my coaching career was to leave him out of the England series because of the way he performed,” Gambhir said.He added that a few poor performances do not make established players less capable, especially those who helped India win the World Cup. Gambhir said the team wants to go back to the combination that worked during the tournament.Ahead of the fifth ODI, the 15-year-old batsman shared a cryptic post on social media that read “still believe”, suggesting that he still hopes to get an opportunity in the fifth and final match as India look for a series win.

Sooryavanshi secured a longer run

Gambhir acknowledged the teenager’s talent but stressed that he must wait for his chance, with experienced players currently ahead of him in the selection order.“From Vaibhav’s point of view, again, it’s a very clear conversation that he has to wait for his opportunity. We know the kind of talent he has. We know what he can do. But then again, someone who has done extremely well for a number of years is obviously always going to be ahead of someone who has made the team. Whenever he gets that chance, you’re also going to have a longer run,” he explained.