'Bide his time': Ryan ten Doeschate breaks silence on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's India debut delay

The Indian team endured a shameful loss against Ireland in the second and final T20I of the series on Sunday, June 29 at the Stormont Cricket Ground in Belfast. While chasing a modest target of 155 runs in the second innings, the Men in Blue managed to get only 153 in the allotted 20 overs and lost the game by 1 run. 

Despite the series loss by 2-0, questions on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's absence from the playing XI kept rising. It seemed that the team management was a little hesitant in handing the debut cap to the youngster who just delivered a historic individual campaign in the IPL 2026 for Rajasthan Royals (RR).

Why Vaibhav Sooryavanshi wasn't given a chance in the Ireland T20I series?

At the post-game press conference, India's assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate backed team India for not handing India cap to the 15-year-old opener, saying that he is absolutely ready to make international debut, but there are players who already did well in the past few months. 

The former Netherlands international believes that it would be unfair to someone like Sanju Samson who played phenomenally well in India's T20 World Cup 2026 triumph and enjoyed great success in the IPL as well while playing for Chennai Super Kings (CSK). 

While continuing, Doeschate claimed that the team management wants to give a longer run to the players who have done well for the side in recent times. However, the former Netherlands international admitted that Vaibhav is extremely talented but has to go through the same process as everyone else.

“It’s important in terms of giving players confidence, and the message we’re sending to players. We want to give guys a long run in the team. So, as ready as Vaibhav is and as excited as we are and you are to see him play, he’s going to have to go through the same process as everyone else and bide his time and wait. But certainly no questions about how good he is and how ready he is,” said Doeschate.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's record-breaking IPL 2026 season

The teenage sensation from Bihar, enjoyed a record-breaking individual campaign for the Rajasthan-based franchise in the IPL 2026. In 16 outings, Vaibhav managed to score 776 runs at an average of 48.50 at a staggering strike rate of 237.30. The left-handed opener recorded four half-centuries and one hundred in the 2026 edition. Notably, he also won the Orange Cap award in the season.