Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin believes teenage batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi should only be considered for India’s T20I playing XI if he gets opportunities on a tour like Zimbabwe, where regular openers Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson are unlikely to feature. According to Ashwin, there is currently no reason to break up India’s established opening pair.

Sooryavanshi is close to creating history as he looks to become the youngest player to make his India debut, surpassing the record jointly associated with Shafali Verma and batting legend Sachin Tendulkar. However, the youngster had to wait for his chance after being left out of the playing XI for the first T20I against Ireland. The team management instead stayed with the T20 World Cup-winning opening combination of Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson.

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Samson failed to make a big contribution in the series opener in Belfast, leading to calls from several former cricketers and fans for Sooryavanshi to be included in the second T20I at the same venue on Sunday, June 28.

Despite that, Ashwin feels India should continue backing the current opening pair.

Ashwin also said Sooryavanshi has done enough to deserve a place in the national side, but not by replacing players who have already earned their spots.

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