Why is Samson always sacrificial lamb to try youngsters?:Indian cricket assistant coach avoids option of Sooryavanshi replacing Abhishek

Assistant coach of the Indian cricket team, Ryan ten Doeschate, has declared 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi fully ready for international cricket. However, the coach clearly stated that to get a place in the team, Vaibhav will also have to go through the same selection process that other players have gone through. While mentioning how Sooryavanshi is not currently compatible in Playing XI, the India assistant coach mentioned Sanju Samson’s name rather than taking the names of both the openers, including Abhishek Sharma. This sparks the question of why Samson is the only name in the minds of Indian management that can be dropped instead of other opener Abhishek Sharma, who also got out early in the second T20I game against Ireland. Indian assistant coach mentions Samson when asked to fit Vaibhav In response to questions raised about Vaibhav not getting an opportunity in the T20 series against Ireland, Ryan Doeschate said that Sanju Samson had played a crucial role in helping India win the T20 World Cup a few months ago. He added that it is important to give players sufficient opportunities and maintain trust in them, even after a good IPL season. He said- He (Sooryavanshi) is absolutely ready to play international cricket, there is no doubt about that, but also Sanju Samson is a guy who went a long way to win us the World Cup three months ago. He has got a fairly good IPL, and it is important to give players confidence and message to the players, we want to give guys a long run in the team. It’s worth noting that the first name that came to mind of Team India’s think-tank was that of Samson instead of players like Abhishek Sharma, who share the same spot as Sanju and haven’t performed well in crunch situations or tricky pitches. The internet echoed the same sentiment after Ryan Doeschate’s statement as users questioned why Sanju Samson was the first name when it came to fit in Sooryavansh in the Playing XI. Why can’t Vaibhav Sooryavanshi replace Abhishek Sharma? When it comes to the left-right combination, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is a perfect fit to replace Abhishek Sharma. Both of them are right-hand batters, and Sooryavanshi has performed well on more diverse pitches apart from great performances in the U-19 World Cup 2026, IPL 2026, and Tri-Nation Series 2026 in Sri Lanka. Meanwhile, Abhishek Sharma might have scored well in the home-bilateral T20I series or in IPL, but he struggled on pitches like those of the T20 World Cup 2026 and the Ireland series. When it comes to technical batter like Sanju Samson, he can adapt to surfaces, but a go-to hitter like Abhishek Sharma is already a trusted batter and can be replaced to test the teenager in challenging England conditions. It might be better to bench Abhishek instead of Samson, who already has had his fair share of ups and downs with selection in the Indian team. Doeschate said, ‘Team Management excited to see Vaibhav play’ Ten Doeschate said that the team management is excited to see Vaibhav play soon, but the same criteria will apply to him as apply to other players. He said- We are all excited to see Vaibhav play, but he has to go through the same process but certainly no question about how good he is. Sooryavanshi had a dream run in IPL 2026 Vaibhav Sooryavanshi scored the most runs, 776, in IPL 2026. Batting at a strike rate of over 230, he won awards like the Orange Cap, Most Valuable Player, and Emerging Player. The 45-year-old South African coach said on the loss to Ireland that the team could not adapt itself to the conditions. On Sunday, Team India suffered a narrow one-run defeat against Ireland. With this defeat, Ireland also clean-swept India 2-0. 15-year-old sensation may get chance on the England tour India will now play a T20 series against England from July 1. If Vaibhav gets a chance to debut on this tour, he will become India’s youngest international cricketer, breaking Sachin Tendulkar’s record of debuting at the age of 16.