Former India opener Aakash Chopra questioned the decision to drop Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in the fourth T20I against New Zealand once Ishan Kishan became available, arguing that the youngster should not be treated merely as a replacement for injured players.

He suggested that if Sooryavanshi is unlikely to get regular opportunities in the playing XI, he would be better served returning to domestic cricket, particularly first-class cricket, to gain valuable match experience and spend more time at the crease.

Sooryavanshi featured in the second and third T20Is against New Zealand after Ishan Kishan was ruled out due to injury. The youngster scored 4 and 45 in his two outings before being dropped from the playing XI for the fourth match.

“Last match, Abhishek made 100 and Vaibhav missed his 50. But the batting was very good. After that, the question was, if Ishan is fit, who will go out. If you think philosophically, then the answer is Vaibhav Sooryavanshi since he replaced an injured Kishan. But this was a dead rubber,” Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.

“The decision to drop Vaibhav Sooryavanshi leads to a bigger question. Will you play Vaibhav Sooryavanshi only when someone is injured? Or when someone is unavailable? If that is the case, you can send him home. You can tell him to go and play first-class cricket. Of course, he can learn by staying in the Indian dressing room. But if it’s happening for an extended period, he should get bat on ball,” he added.

Chopra called for the team management to clarify its plans and long-term vision for Sooryavanshi, expressing disappointment over the youngster’s omission and the lack of clarity surrounding his role in the team.

“The team should come out and share what their roadmap and philosophy is. Maybe they have already thought about it and have already charted out a plan. But they haven’t told anybody. As such, we don’t know what they are going to do with Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. His absence was a little disappointing,” Chopra said. 

Kishan endured a disappointing return, falling for a duck as India chased a massive target of 260 runs before being restricted to 172/9.