Vaibhav Sooryavanshi to replace Tilak Varma or Shivam Dube within ‘six months’, predicts former India cricketer

Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (PTI Photo) Mohammad Kaif believes India could face major selection headaches in the T20I format over the next six months, with the former batsman predicting that Vaibhav Sooryavanshi will force his way into the first-choice side.Kaif believes the arrival of the teenage sensation could eventually leave Tilak Varma or Shivam Dube fighting for a place in the playing XI, despite Tilak currently being India’s vice-captain.“I understand Tilak is the vice-captain. But the vice-captains have also been dropped earlier. I don’t want to go there. Shivam Dube doesn’t score in every match and he still has to prove himself. Fielding is also his weakness and he is not a proper bowling all-rounder. He only plays as a batsman. After six months it will be either Tilak or Tilak and I will have to drop out.” saying this right now,” Kaif said on his YouTube channel.Kaif pointed to Sooryavanshi’s performances outside T20Is as another reason for his prediction. The teenager also made a mark in the Duleep Trophy and even bowled during the tournament, adding another dimension to his game.“Sooryavanshi scored in the Duleep Trophy as well. He improved his game. He even bowled there. So he understood that if he can bowl a few overs, he will have an advantage,” he added.The numbers behind Sooryavanshi’s rapid rise are hard to miss. In his first six T20Is of 2026, he scored 193 runs at an average of 32.17 and a strike rate of 189.22. He found the boundary once in 3.4 deliveries and hit a six every 7.2 balls.His IPL campaign further strengthened this case. Sooryavanshi finished the season with 776 runs at an average of 48.50 and a strike rate of 237.51, including 72 sixes.Those numbers have already shifted the conversation around the teenager. Rather than being seen as just a young player gradually getting introduced to international cricket, Sooryavanshi is increasingly looking to earn a regular spot in India’s T20I set-up.Tilak’s numbers, meanwhile, remain respectable on the surface. In 2026, he scored 395 runs in T20Is at an average of 35.91 and a strike rate of 154.90.However, the timing of some of these runs adds another layer to the debate. His fifty came in the fifth and final T20I against England when India had already lost the series and India lost that match as well.Another significant contribution came during the Zimbabwe tour, although the quality of the opposition bowling was not necessarily of the highest order.There have also been instances where Tilak found it difficult to rotate the strike after being promoted up the order or arriving at the crease earlier than expected, especially against spin. However, he proved more effective as a finisher at the other end of the innings, including against Jofro Archer.This creates a contrast in the type of batter India could ultimately choose between. Sooryavanshi represents an extreme-pace approach built on relentless boundary-smashing, while Tilak offers more adaptability and innings-building ability.Dube’s numbers also complicate the selection debate more than Kaif’s rating might suggest.The all-rounder scored 415 T20I runs in 2026 at an average of 31.92 and a strike rate of 170.78. In the T20 World Cup, he scored 235 runs at a pace of 169.06, giving India considerable gains from a player who was primarily selected for his power hitting.The bigger question surrounding Dube is his bowling contribution.In 2026, he bowled just 26 overs in 23 T20Is, taking 12 wickets and conceding 12.44 runs per over. These numbers highlight how India have largely used him as a batsman who can provide the occasional over, rather than a true all-rounder.That difference could become important if Sooryavanshi continues to add bowling to his skill set.India have a number of options in their T20I batting group for now. But Kaif’s six-month forecast puts firmly into focus a question that may be increasingly difficult for selectors to avoid: how long can a player with Sooryavanshi’s scoring numbers stay out of the first-choice XI?