02 July,2026 04:13 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (Pic: X/@BCCI)
Team India is all set to lock horns with England in the second T20I match. The clash is scheduled to be played on July 4 at the Old Trafford Cricket Ground in Greater Manchester.
Ahead of the match, former Team India cricketer Saba Karim heaped praise on swashbuckling batsman Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. He feels that the left-handed batsman is very quick to realise where the bowlers can target him and plays accordingly.
"This is the best trait of Vaibhav's batting. He realises very quickly where the bowlers might target him, takes a few balls to assess whether he has the shots in his armoury to score against those deliveries, and prepares accordingly. That kind of preparation is what he has done," he said on JioStar.
The former cricketer is also optimistic about Sooryavanshi's readiness irrespective of conditions or the bowling attack.
"That's why this year we have seen him start to play the upper cut against shorter deliveries, hit through the covers with a strong base, go over long-off, over cover, and play inside-out shots. All these shots that he has added to his scoring repertoire mean that now, whatever the conditions are, whatever the bowling attack is, he is ready," said Karim.
Further, the former cricketer feels that after Virat Kohli's 2016 IPL season, Sooryavanshi's 2026 season would be the best one.
"In my opinion, in the history of the IPL, perhaps after that season of Virat Kohli when he scored so many runs, if one season has to be defined, it is Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's IPL, IPL 2026. The kind of performances he has put in against top-quality bowlers, even though in Indian conditions, have been top-notch," he said.
Karim also said that not only Indian fans but the entire world is excited to see the left-handed batsman feature in all formats of the game.
"I have full faith in his ability to score big runs. Not only Indian fans but the entire world is waiting to see Vaibhav Sooryavanshi play in the same manner that he did in the IPL. I have high hopes for this young lad. Very soon, we will see him in all three formats. I am dead sure about it," said the 58-year-old former cricketer.
India: Sanju Samson (WK), Axar Patel, Shreyas Iyer (C), Ishan Kishan (WK), Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Shivam Dube, Abhishek Sharma, Arshdeep Singh, Tilak Varma, Ravi Bishnoi, Suryansh Shedge, Harshit Rana, Prince Yadav, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.
England: Liam Dawson, Adil Rashid, Jos Buttler (WK), Jofra Archer, Luke Wood, Saqib Mahmood, Sam Curran, Phil Salt (WK), Josh Tongue, Harry Brook (C), Tom Banton, Will Jacks, Jordan Cox (WK), James Coles, Jacob Bethell, Rehan Ahmed, Sonny Baker.
