The much awaited opening match of the bilateral series between England And India 01 July, 2026 promises to be an exciting start to summer in Chester-le-Street. However, the first T20I ended with mixed emotions for fans and pundits. While the English weather ultimately had the final say, the major talking point in the Indian camp was the consistent exclusion of the talented 15-year-old. Vaibhav Suryavanshi From playing eleven.
Ravi Shastri opens up on missing out on Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s international debut
Former head coach of India Ravi Shastri He did not deny his views regarding the team management’s decision to keep Suryavanshi on the bench. The flamboyant young opening batsman, who took the IPL by storm with his fearless approach against world-class fast bowlers, was named in India’s squad for the twin tours. ireland And England. Nevertheless, he is still waiting to earn his first international cap.
Speaking live during the broadcast from Chester-le-Street, Shastri particularly strongly criticized the decision to keep the teenager on the bench during the previous series in Ireland. According to Shastri, the slow and spongy nature of the Irish pitches with short boundaries would have served as the perfect launchpad for Suryavanshi’s explosive power-hitting.
“He should have played in Ireland, it’s such a slow and spongy track; He would hit it on the terrace because it was a small ground. he had to play there“Shastri said clearly.
Shastri stressed that the 15-year-old has the ‘X-factor’ and plays without the psychological burden that often restricts senior cricketers. He urged the team management to include the youngster in the starting line-up immediately rather than letting him sit on the bench, noting that even a brief, fiery cameo at the top of the order could drastically swing the momentum in India’s favour.
Here is the video:
“Hey, that should have been playing, man!” 👀
Ravi Shastri’s very honest comment on Vaibhav Suryavanshi
Watch #ENGvINDSecond T20 match on July 4, 6 PM, live on Sony Sports Network TV channels.#SonySportsNetwork #the matter is personal #extra innings pic.twitter.com/0S9yMguEig
– Sony Sports Network (@SonySportsNetwk) 1 July 2026
Also read: Wasim Jaffer told why England has the upper hand over India in the T20I series
England and India’s T20I openers became victims of rain
While the debate over Suryavanshi’s debut dominated the off-field discussions, the action was reduced due to persistent rain on the pitch, resulting in a disappointing ‘no result’. Despite the humidity at the end of the evening, India’s batting unit displayed aggressive intent after opting to bat and completed their full quota of 20 overs at a competitive 189/7.
Had a bad start to the innings and lost the opening batsman sanju samson Just for 7 more runs Ishan Kishan At a duck from two balls, India were reduced to 6/2 in the first two overs. However, Abhishek Sharma Led a brilliant counter-attack. The left-handed batsman scored a blistering half-century off just 20 balls, eventually being dismissed for 59 runs off 24 balls, an innings which included 3 fours and 7 thunderous sixes.
Abhishek got a capable partner as captain Shreyas IyerWho started the innings in the middle overs by playing a steady inning of 68 runs in 47 balls. after Tilak Verma Was out after scoring 13 runs on one ball. Shivam Dubey Remained unbeaten after scoring 42 runs on just 21 balls at a strike rate of 200.00.
For England, Saqib Mahmood He was the best bowler, registering impressive figures of 3/33 from his 4 overs Sam Curran And adil rashid Took one wicket each. Unfortunately for the packed crowd at Chester-le-Street, rain arrived during the innings break, preventing England’s run chase from progressing and the series remained at 0–0 heading into the next encounter.
Also read: Cheteshwar Pujara explains why Vaibhav Suryavanshi may not join England T20I immediately