Vaibhav Sooryavanshi seldom allows the opposition time to plan during a game when he is on song. He has already given us plenty of examples of his ability to switch into fifth gear from the first ball of his innings. This has prompted the New Zealand camp to prepare for him, even though the youngster faces stiff competition for a place in the playing XI.
“So, we’ve got some plans for him if that happens, if he happens to play,” Mitchell Santner, the white-ball captain of the Black Caps, said during the press conference ahead of the first match. The five-match T20I series opener will be played in Christchurch on Thursday, October 22.
India have been grappling with a selection dilemma regarding Sooryavanshi who has impressed everyone with his array of shots. However, disrupting the balance and a settled opening pair of Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson just to give Sooryavanshi a go is a risk the Indian think tank has so far avoided.
In the recently concluded series against West Indies, Sharma and Samson opened for India in all four completed games. In all likelihood, India would persist with an unchanged combination in the upcoming series against New Zealand.
Santner acknowledges India’s opening firepower
While interacting with the press, Santner acknowledged the firepower India possess at the top. “Sanju and Abhishek have done really well. So, you know, I think it’s one of those things where we know how good he is and then, you know, the guys who are playing are also doing very well. So I think he has a huge part to play for India, you know, whether it’s the series or not, but in the future.”
Sooryavanshi made his debut during India’s England tour, where the home team tested him with short balls. Santner did not explicitly reveal that New Zealand would adopt the same approach; however, he indicated that they had watched the series and had their own plans ready if and when the left-hander plays.
“So if he does, you know, get a crack at the series, we’ve seen, you know, what he can do, and guys have found it quite hard to stop him. I know England, in the series away, went quite short and hard at a lot of Indian batters, but you know, I think we’ve seen in the IPL how aggressive he can be. So we’ve got plans for him if that happens, if he happens to play.”
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Sooryavanshi’s numbers underline his reputation
The attention the young batter is attracting is not based on hearsay. The world has seen what he can do when he is in full flow. Sooryavanshi scored 776 runs in IPL 2026 at an average of 48.50 and a strike rate of 237.30. He hit 72 sixes in the season, a record-breaking achievement, while scoring five half-centuries and a century. And it is not only the IPL; the international arena has also failed to overwhelm him. In the eight matches he has played at the highest level, Sooryavanshi has scored 246 runs at a strike rate exceeding 186.
New Zealand conditions have traditionally favoured bowlers; however, that has changed in recent times, although one can still expect lateral movement with the new ball. The home skipper also hopes that potentially larger boundaries and early-season conditions will help them overcome any challenge the visitors throw at them. “So, I guess one thing here, there’s slightly bigger boundaries as well, which is, I guess the bowlers and more of a bowler’s favour.”
The fact that the opposition are preparing even when Sooryavanshi’s place in the eleven is not guaranteed underlines the formidable reputation the youngster has built in the cricketing fraternity. Now, it will be interesting to see what the Indian think tank does.
