Shreyas Iyer opened up on the decision to bench Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in the T20I series against Ireland amidst all the criticism regarding the same matter. The Indian skipper claimed that every individual in the team performed well prior to the series and that they have to respect every individual. Shreyas Iyer stated that they aspire to build security and back their players to build their confidence. Despite India losing the first game against Ireland by a decent margin due to the poor form of the batting unit, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi didn’t get a chance in the next game. The experts and fans criticised both the Indian skipper and Gautam Gambhir for their harsh decision-making against the Rajasthan Royals star batter.

“Each individual playing in the team has performed, it’s not like one individual is performing. We’ve to build security and back our players at the same time, so they can gain confidence,” stated Shreyas Iyer on the decision to bench Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. The fact stated by the skipper is quite true as it would be a severe tactical dilemma for India to pick just 11 players out of an extremely talented squad. All the players that were picked in both games of the series deserved those opportunities and they couldn’t just change the team balance for one player.

“Main pillars in T20s”: Shreyas Iyer on India’s batting core

India had a nightmare T20I series against Ireland as they recorded their first ever loss against Ireland in the first game and then it became even worse, as India lost the second game as well. It was also the first T20I series that Shreyas Iyer was in charge as captain of the side and things didn’t go well for the new skipper. The decision making related to the final starting squad was criticised by the experts and fans as the in-form Vaibhav Sooryavanshi couldn’t unfortunately make it to the starting XI.

“Players who won us the last WC have a fair idea on how to play the format, they’ve been main pillars in T20s, so you need to back them,” added Shreyas Iyer to back his decision regarding the team selection in the T20I series against Ireland.

The argument stated by Shreyas Iyer cannot be ignored as the top-order of India was key to its championship glory in the 2026 ICC T20I World Cup. Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan were the stalwarts of the batting unit and they led the side to victory on numerous occasions. The form of the trio in the IPL was also commendable and to lose their spot without doing much wrong or an injury would be largely unfair. However, Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan weren’t in great touch in both the games as they were struggling to get off the mark.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has been in the form of his life over the last few months and he would have been waiting for an opportunity in the series. He is yet to make his international debut for the senior team and the teenage sensation could make his debut against England in one of the games. Sooryavanshi would have to wait longer for his opportunity in the T20I side unless one of the batters is sidelined with an injury.