Ryan ten Doeschate Defends Sanju Samson Selection Over Vaibhav Sooryavanshi

Following India's recent T20I series defeat against Ireland and a subsequent match on Wednesday, Indian cricket team assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate defended the selection of Sanju Samson over 15-year-old prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi during a discussion in Bengaluru. Ten Doeschate emphasized the team management's commitment to giving established players a consistent run despite public clamour for the teenager's international debut.

The calls to hand Sooryavanshi his senior international debut intensified after Samson endured three consecutive low scores—two against Ireland and one against England on Wednesday. Despite the growing public campaign for the 15-year-old sensation to be included in the playing eleven, the coaching staff has backed the experienced Kerala batter.

Speaking on the selection debate, Ten Doeschate acknowledged Sooryavanshi's readiness but highlighted Samson's past contributions. "He (Sooryavanshi) is absolutely ready to play international cricket, there is no doubt about that but also Sanju Samson is a guy who went a long way to win us the World Cup three months ago," Ten Doeschate said.

He added that Samson had a fairly good Indian Premier League (IPL) season and reiterated the importance of building player confidence. "He has got a fairly good IPL, and it is important to give players confidence and a message to the players, we want to give guys a long run in the team," the assistant coach said.

The team management's decision to stick with Samson is rooted in his pivotal role during India's successful T20 World Cup campaign three months ago. In that tournament, Samson scored three crucial half-centuries: an unbeaten 97 off 50 balls against the West Indies in the final group match, 89 off 42 balls against England in the semifinal, and 89 off 46 balls against New Zealand in the final. He earned player of the match honours against both the West Indies and England, and was named the player of the series.

Head coach Gautam Gambhir and skipper Shreyas Iyer have continued to show faith in Samson, naming him in the lineup for the opener against England in Durham despite his recent struggles and the series loss to Ireland.

While Sooryavanshi remains part of the squad to integrate into the senior team environment, the coaching staff believes there is no immediate need to fast-track him into the playing eleven.