Vaibhav Suryavanshi to be India's Asia Cup surprise? BCCI told to play ‘bold' in squad selection; ‘Don't make him wait'
Having become the youngest ever to earn an IPL contract, Suryavanshi etched his name into record books by becoming the youngest-ever IPL centurion at 14 years when he reached his three-figure mark against Gujarat Titans. He finished his IPL 2025 campaign with a fifty.
In seven matches, Suryavanshi amassed 252 runs at a strike rate of more than 200. That's not all. The left-handed opener continued his impressive form for India U-19 in England, scoring a century en route to their series win. Srikkanth's comments came after he felt Sanju Samson's position is still in doubt following the right-hander's injury in IPL 2025.
"You have to play bold. Don't make him wait. Don't say things like 'let him mature'. He is already playing with remarkable maturity. His shot-making has been on another level. If I were chairman, I would definitely have him in the squad," Srikkanth said in a video on his YouTube show.
Srikkanth, who was a member of the India's 1983 World Cup-winning squad, picked Abhishek Sharma as his first-choice opener, kept Suryavanshi and Sai Sudharsan as his options for the second opener.
"My first-choice opener is Abhishek Sharma, no doubt. I will have two more openers. My picks would be Vaibhav Suryavanshi or Sai Sudharsan, with Shubman Gill as an option. If I were a selector, I would keep Vaibhav in the 15 for the T20 World Cup. He has been outstanding," he added.
"I think it should be Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, and Sai Sudharsan. I would take two out of these three. That would be my preference," said Srikkanth.
As per media reports, India's squad will be announced on August 19 after a selection committee meeting at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai. Captain Suryakumar Yadav, head coach Gautam Gambhir and BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar will be present at the meeting.
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