Sooryavanshi’s Rise Gives Gambhir a Selection Dilemma

India’s three-match T20I series against Afghanistan starts on September 13, but head coach Gautam Gambhir may already be wrestling with his toughest call before a ball is bowled: who opens the batting. With Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson and teenager Vaibhav Sooryavanshi all part of the squad, India find themselves with three credible options for only two opening spots. All three matches will be held at Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium, with Afghanistan the designated hosts. Shreyas Iyer leads the side, with Tilak Varma as his deputy.

Sooryavanshi’s Breakout Season

The 15-year-old has made his case hard to overlook. Playing for Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2026, he piled up 776 runs across 16 innings at an average near 48 and a strike rate above 237, including a blistering century off just 37 balls. That form carried into the national side, where he was central to India’s clean sweep over Zimbabwe in the recent T20I series.

A Selection Puzzle for Gambhir

Sooryavanshi’s series against Zimbabwe yielded over 150 runs at nearly 200 strike rate, featuring a rapid fifty and a near-run-a-ball 81, earning him the Player of the Series award. That leaves the team management with a genuine puzzle: pair the left-handed aggression of Abhishek and Sooryavanshi at the top, or make room for the more experienced Samson, especially with a settled middle order featuring Shreyas Iyer and Tilak Varma already in place. Whichever combination is picked, the depth of options is itself a sign of how much India’s batting stocks have grown.