Why is Vaibhav Sooryavanshi not playing in IND vs AFG 1st T20I in Delhi?

It came as a surprise to Indian fans when the Indian captain, Shreyas Iyer, revealed that Vaibhav Sooryavanshi won’t be part of the playing XI of the opening T20I of the three-match series against Afghanistan, which was played on September 13 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.  

Sooryavanshi recently featured in the Duleep Trophy 2026 as the left-handed batter smashed a few superb knocks for East Zone, who went on to win the title under the leadership of Ishan Kishan. The southpaw showed his value in the domestic red-ball events.

Sooryavanshi loses out in tight three-way battle for openers' slots

Shreyas Iyer didn’t mention any reason or injuries at the toss behind Sooryavanshi’s absence from the playing XI, which means the management decided to leave the batter out of the side. He and Sanju Samson have been competing for the opening place with Abhishek Sharma for a while.

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Samson began the trip to the United Kingdom, which included two matches against Ireland and five against England. He failed in the first three games and was dropped in favour of Sooryavanshi, who was handed the debut cap in the game.

“That is more difficult, I feel, but I would say if Vaibhav (Sooryavanshi) is not playing, then Washington (Sundar) is not playing and there are two more which you'll get to know.” Iyer expressed at the toss.

Shreyas Iyer elects to field first as India field Samson and Kishan instead

Iyer won the toss and had no hesitation in bowling first on the surface, expecting the dew to play a major role in the second innings. Jasprit Bumrah, the premier pacer, made his return to the playing XI after a long break.

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“We’re going to bowl first. I mean, when you have played in Delhi, you know what the pitch has got to offer, and we’ve played quite a bit of matches over here. So based on that and looking at the conditions, that’s really both.” The Indian captain addressed at the toss presentation. 

Bumrah started with a massive wide ball down the leg side as the ball rolled down for a boundary. But he drew the first blood two balls later, sending back Rahmanullah Gurbaz for a two-ball duck, who got an outside edge into the hands of the slip fielder.