Sanjay Manjrekar supports Gambhir after Sooryavanshi is excluded from T20I

In the first T20I against Ireland on June 26, Sanjay Manjrekar backed the decision of head coach Gautam Gambhir to leave 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi out of the playing XI. Manjrekar described the omission as a 'call based on merit', emphasizing the importance of maintaining the team's form and structure instead of succumbing to outside excitement for the young player. Captain Shreyas Iyer confirmed at the toss that Sooryavanshi would have to wait for his opportunity, as the established top order of Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, and Ishan Kishan continues to perform. There is speculation that Sooryavanshi may make his debut in the second T20I scheduled for June 28.

• 1:35 PMYahoo Sports — Call based on merit': Sanjay Manjrekar backs Gautam Gambhir after Vaibhav Sooryavanshi misses India debut vs IRE 1st T20I