The internet is loud about Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. The 15-year-old took Player of the Series in Zimbabwe, then vanished from the T20I squad against Afghanistan and the West Indies. Fans are frustrated. They want to see the kid who is tearing up the IPL. They want to see him open for India. But Murali Kartik thinks that passion is the wrong metric for selection. Kartik, speaking to Sony Sports Network, is blunt: don't rush him. Not yet.
The numbers are the real story here. Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma have combined for 1,125 runs in just 38 T20Is together. That makes them India’s fourth-highest run-scoring partnership in the format. Add Ishan Kishan to the mix, and the competition at the top of the order isn't just tight—it's crowded. Kartik points out that while the duo can be inconsistent, their aggregate output has won games. You don't pull up a chair for a new guest when the existing one is already serving dinner.
"I am not somebody who makes a change for the sake of it," Kartik said. He drew a direct line to Yashasvi Jaiswal, who has struggled to find white-ball spots despite Test and IPL form because Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill are entrenched. Sooryavanshi faces a similar wall. His talent is undeniable, but talent doesn't automatically displace form. Kartik argues that swapping players because "people want to see him" is unfair to those who earned their spot.
So, what’s the path forward? Kartik says the door is open, but you have to wait for the lock to turn. If Samson or Abhishek go through a prolonged lean patch—15 innings without runs, for example—Sooryavanshi steps in. Until then, the management’s job is to be honest. Gautam Gambhir and Shreyas Iyer have already told the youngster to be patient. Kartik believes giving the "harsh truth" is better than leaving a player in limbo. He takes it on the chin.
The next test comes when the next series window opens, and the question remains: does Sooryavanshi keep waiting, or does one of the incumbents finally slip?