India looks set to maintain the same starting XI for the fourth T20I against the West Indies in Hyderabad as Vaibhav Sooryavanshi continues to wait for his debut in the series. After securing a 14-run victory in Indore on Sunday, India leads the five-match series 2-1, with no immediate signs of change to the batting order that has seen Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma open in all three games so far.
Abhishek’s 69 off 30 balls combined with Arshdeep Singh’s three wickets for 44 runs swung the match in India’s favour in Indore. Yet Sooryavanshi, who is part of the 15-man squad, remains on the sidelines despite being available for selection. Samson’s form has fluctuated, with scores of 11, 82, and 3 in the series, but the management appears inclined to stick with the current lineup.
The series, which India trails 2-1 after West Indies chased down 250 in Ranchi, is now at a stage where opportunities to experiment are dwindling. The fifth and final T20I will be played in Bengaluru on October 17, leaving little room to rotate players. Sooryavanshi’s last outing for India came recently at the Asian Games, where he scored 15 in the gold medal match against Pakistan on October 3 and 38 against Sri Lanka two days prior. Those performances contributed to his overall tally of 53 runs at the event.
Predicted line-ups for the Hyderabad match suggest that Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson will continue to open, followed by Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, and Tilak Varma in the middle order. Kishan’s 37 in Indore helped India build a platform, with a 108-run partnership for the second wicket alongside Abhishek. However, India’s lower order collapsed late in the innings, being bowled out for 223 after Iyer’s dismissal for just one run and run-outs involving Tilak Varma and Axar Patel.
While that middle and lower-order collapse could prompt a change, it is more likely to affect the tailenders rather than the opening pair. Sooryavanshi’s inclusion might depend on whether the Indian management opts to rest some players for the final match in Bengaluru rather than on Hyderabad’s team selection.
West Indies face a fitness concern themselves, with Romario Shepherd carrying a niggle that kept him out of the Indore game. The toss and final playing XIs for the Hyderabad game remain unconfirmed, but all indications point towards a settled Indian squad.
Sooryavanshi’s T20I record includes eight matches with 246 runs at an average of 30.75 and a highest score of 81 against Zimbabwe in July. His recent form at the Asian Games highlighted his potential, yet the Indian team has not found room for him in the ongoing series against the West Indies.
The fourth T20I is set to begin at 7 pm IST at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad, with the final playing eleven expected to be announced at the toss. Sooryavanshi has not batted yet in this series, and whether he will get a chance remains uncertain as India appears to favour consistency over experimentation in this phase of the contest.
According to Yahoo Sports.