‘You have to earn’: Former India cricketer says Vaibhav Sooryavanshi should not replace ‘wonderful’ Sanju Samson just yet

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Sanju Samson Former India cricketer Saba Karim believes it is too soon to see 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi as a replacement for Sanju Samson in India’s T20I squad. He backed Samson’s recent performances and said the youngster should be given the chance to develop without comparison.Sooryavanshi traveled with the Indian team for the T20I series against Ireland and England but is yet to make his international debut. Instead, India continue to back the top-order trio of Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan, all of whom played important roles in India’s 2026 T20 World Cup triumph.Asked if Sooryavanshi could replace Samson in the playing eleven, Karim rejected the suggestion.“I don’t think so at this stage. Sanju Samson is a wonderful player. He won the match. He had a very good IPL season. Before that he was the player of the tournament in the T20 World Cup. What are we looking at? Sanju Samson would be thinking, ‘Why is everyone gunning for me?’,” Karim was quoted as saying by Star News.18 Sports.Karim also said that staying in the Indian team without an immediate match can benefit Sooryavanshi.“Even for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, it’s a good learning curve. He will also understand that to get into this Indian XI, you have to earn your calling. This environment will help him grow as a player and as a human being. Even though he has such an incredible amount of talent, when you get into such a competitive environment, you have to wait,” he added.Sooryavanshi was one of the most talked about young players after IPL 2026 where he scored 776 runs for Rajasthan Royals at a strike rate of 237.30 and was named player of the tournament.India did not give him a debut during the Ireland series where they suffered a 2-0 defeat.Still, Karim believes the teenager’s time will come.“I have full faith in his ability to score big runs. Not just Indian fans but the whole world is waiting to see Vaibhav Sooryavanshi play the way he played in the IPL. I have high hopes for this young lad. We will see him in all three formats very soon. I am dead sure of it,” Karim said on JioStar as quoted by news agency IANS.India and England will play the second T20I on Saturday.