England T20 series: Vaibhav debut can wait as India seek a quick turnaround

The embarrassing 2-0 defeat to Ireland, thanks to their batting failure, and virtually no turnaround time are two of the biggest worries as Shreyas Iyer’s India open their five-match T20I series against England at the scenic Chester-Le-Street on Wednesday. The curiosity value around a possible debut of the teenage sensation, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, has certainly taken the backseat for now.  

Speaking to the media on the eve of the match on Tuesday, 30 June, Shreyas dropped enough hints that he would prefer some kind of a continuity in the playing XI rather than expose the 15-year-old so early. ‘’We would like to provide some kind of security to the team members—people who have won us the World Cup and have been pillars of the set-up,’’ said the new T20 captain.  

Earlier, assistant coach Ryan Ten Doeschate said while there are no doubts on Vaibhav’s readiness to break into the big league, the team management would want him to ‘’go through the process and bide his time’’ like any other cricketer to get a place in the playing XI. The twin failure of Sanju Samson, star of World T20 triumph, against Ireland hence does not set any alarm bells ringing for the management—nor does it for Ishan Kishan, who also failed in Ireland with scores of 1 and 12.

Asked about the twin losses in Ireland, Shreyas admitted they were ‘depressing’ but the Men in Blue would like to move on. ‘’They used the dimensions of the ground better and outplayed us. However, this is a new series altogether and the team is in a good mindspace,’’ Iyer said.

There are media reports from England that the average T20I score in the Riverside ground is 138, with a highest of 195, which clearly hints at bowlers’ dominance across eight previous matches held there. There is no gainsaying that batters like Kishan, Tilak Varma and the captain have to fine-tune their approach after the powerplay—or else there could be further embarrassment around the corner against the likes of an in-form Jofra Archer and Josh Tongue.

The England camp, meanwhile, may be rattled somewhat after the sudden exit of Test skipper Ben Stokes and a 2-1 series defeat to the Kiwis home—but the shortest format will hand them the perfect opportunity to restore the morale ahead of a high profile ODI series against India which follows. Their batting line-up has some powerhouses in skipper Harry Brook, veteran Jos Buttler, Jordan Cox, Jacob Bethell, Will Jacks, Phil Salt and Tom Banton—and they were the only side to have given India a real scare in the semi-finals of World T20 in Mumbai.

It’s time then to brace up for a cracker of a series—albeit in the middle of a FIFA World Cup.

 T20I series schedule

1 July: First T20I (Chester-Le-Street)

4 July: Old Trafford

7 July: Trent Bridge

9 July: Bristol

11 July: Southampton