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Former Team India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar has warned Sanju Samson after the opener’s disappointing start in the T20 series against Ireland. Sanjay Manjrekar says Sanju Samson can’t afford another failure, teenage sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi is waiting for a chance in the playing XI.
Shreyas Iyer-led India suffered a crushing 34-run defeat to Ireland in the opening T20 match at the Civil Service Cricket Club in Belfast on Friday. After this defeat, the demand for Suryavanshi to make his international debut in the second and final T20 match on Sunday has increased, if the team management decides to make a change.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s breathing is heavy – Sanjay Manjrekar sent a warning to Sanju Samson
To begin the series, India retained the T20 World Cup 2026-winning opening pair of Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson, leaving Vaibhav Suryavanshi on the bench. However, Samson failed to make an impact and scored just five runs in four balls during the chase..
While talking on Sony Sports Network after the match, Sanjay Manjrekar said that the current opener is under pressure. He said that the teenage batsman’s stellar IPL 2026 season has made the competition for places very tough.
“But Sanju Samson needs to be careful because Vaibhav Suryavanshi is killing him and Abhishek Sharma,” Manjrekar said on Sony Sports Network.
It remains to be seen whether India make changes for the second T20I on Sunday. If selected, 15-year-old Suryavanshi will become the youngest player to represent the Indian men’s team.
At the top, I don’t think there is any room – Sanjay Manjrekar on Vaibhav Suryavanshi
Sanjay Manjrekar believes Vaibhav Suryavanshi could have made a bigger impact than Abhishek Sharma during the powerplay, but he doesn’t think Kishore alone could have changed the result. He suggested that the middle order might be a more suitable role if India decide to include him.
Manjrekar said, “I think he would have done the same thing that Abhishek did, maybe a little better. Chasing the target, you had to do everything in the first six overs. You had to carry that pace in the remaining overs as well. So he could have made things a little easier while chasing, but the target became too big and the conditions were not easy. And you also saw in the tri-series in Dambulla how he was not getting sixes very often.”
“And it was a reminder, and I’m very glad you know I’ve said this before, that people have come to realize that hitting sixes is not that easy. So Vaibhav could manage it in the first six overs, but later on he had to work his way up. And to answer your question, I don’t think it would have made a difference unless you wanted to play him in the lower order. The middle order, there’s some room there, but at the top, I don’t think there’s any there.” Place,” he added.
There are no substitutes in bench strength – Paul Valthaty
Former India batsman Paul Valthaty believes that India are unlikely to make changes to their batting lineup for the second T20I against Ireland due to the limited batting options available in the team. He said that leg spinner Ravi Bishnoi is a strong contender to return to the playing eleven.
Valthaty said, “I think the Indian team will not bend that way where they can just continue with the same batting combination, because that also suggests that there is no option in bench strength that is available to them in Ireland.”
He said, “You only have Suryansh Sej and the rest of the all-rounders. So, maybe I think Ravi Bishnoi can come up to the level of the game, and that may be the case, especially at number six, they might have a better option in Bishnoi.”
