‘Sometimes you have to wait; we have two fantastic openers’: Shreyas Iyer on his conversation with Vaibhav Sooryavanshi

Bengaluru: Following the rain-affected fifth T20I against the West Indies, Indian captain Shreyas Iyer revealed his conversations with teenage prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, advising the youngster to remain patient, stick to his routine, and stay mentally prepared for when his chance arrives.

The high-scoring T20I series ended locked at 2-2 after the final fixture—shortened to a nine-overs-a-side contest—was abandoned due to persistent rain in Bengaluru. Sooryavanshi did not feature in any of the five matches, with his most recent international appearance coming in the Asian Games final against arch-rivals Pakistan. Across eight T20Is, the teenager has scored 246 runs at an explosive strike rate exceeding 186, including two half-centuries.

India opted to stick with their established opening pair throughout the series. Sanju Samson amassed 168 runs in five matches at a strike rate of 195.34, scoring two half-centuries, while Abhishek Sharma contributed 145 runs across five innings at a strike rate of 181.25, also registering two fifties.

Addressing Sooryavanshi’s benching during the post-match presentation, Iyer said: "I just keep telling him [Vaibhav Sooryavanshi], you will get your opportunities. If you are consistent with your process, mindset a bit light and not think too much about not getting an opportunity....you have to wait sometimes. We have two fantastic openers who've been consistent throughout."

Reflecting on the competitive series—which featured West Indies completing a record-breaking 250-run chase in the second T20I alongside multiple 200-plus totals—Iyer admitted that better bowling in key games could have altered the final scoreline. India conceded over 240 runs in both the second and fourth T20Is.

“Could have been a different [series scoreline] if we had bowled well in the second and fourth games. Batting has been sensational, but we fell short in execution. Credit where it’s due; they batted phenomenally well. Kudos to Shai Hope; he was superb. The ability to bounce back even after a loss [is among the big plusses]. We were not able to be consistent throughout, so it was a great learning experience. Even today, the way we went about our batting was outstanding. It’s going to be a challenging series in New Zealand now,” Iyer signed off.

West Indies captain Shai Hope finished as the leading run-scorer of the tour, accumulating 261 runs in four innings at a strike rate over 190. Powered by two centuries and a half-century, Hope was named Player of the Series.

In the truncated final fixture, West Indies won the toss and elected to field in a 9-over match. India posted a quickfire total led by Ishan Kishan, who smashed 30 off 10 balls with three fours and two sixes, alongside Naman Dhir, who remained unbeaten on a blistering 24 off just six balls (one four and three sixes). For the visitors, Shamar Springer and Keemo Paul picked up two wickets each before rain intervened permanently. (ANI)