Should Vaibhav Sooryavanshi replace Sanju Samson? India's opening options weighed ahead of 4th T20I vs. West Indies

India's opening slot has become the biggest selection question of the West Indies series.

Sanju Samson has scored 11, 82 and 3 in the three matches so far, and India lead 2-1 going into the fourth T20I in Hyderabad on Wednesday. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, the 15-year-old left-hander, has not played a single game of the series.

A swap is easy to argue based on recent numbers, but it is not a straightforward decision.

Samson's returns have swung wildly. He made 11 off nine balls in Lucknow, then 82 off 41 in Ranchi, and then fell for 3 off six balls in Indore, caught by Shamar Joseph in the second over with India on 7 for 1.

Add the Asian Games semi-final and final, where he scored 7 and 2, and his last five innings totalled 105 runs off 69 balls.

Sooryavanshi's recent form makes a different case. He hit 38 off 21 balls against Sri Lanka in the Asian Games semi-final and 15 off nine against Pakistan in the gold-medal match, where he opened with Abhishek Sharma.

Across his last five T20I innings, he has 204 runs at a strike rate of 190.65, though 151 of those came against Zimbabwe in July. Samson's last five innings, by comparison, return 105 runs at 152.17.

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Should Vaibhav Sooryavanshi replace Sanju Samson?

The numbers favour Sooryavanshi. His last five innings have produced 40.8 runs each, against 21 for Samson's last five. His strike rate of 190.65 is also well clear of Samson's 152.17. Sooryavanshi has two scores of 50 or more in that run, while Samson has one, the 82 at Ranchi.

The context cuts the other way. Sooryavanshi scored 151 of his 204 runs against Zimbabwe. Against Sri Lanka and Pakistan, he made 53 off 30 balls, a strike rate of 176.67, which is quick, but neither innings went past 38. His last match was the Asian Games final on October 3.

Samson's case rests on bigger innings. He scored 57 off 22 balls and 50 off 35 against Afghanistan in September, and his 82 at Ranchi came at a strike rate of 200. In the third Afghanistan T20I, he and Abhishek Sharma added 142 off 59 balls for the opening wicket.

Samson also keeps wicket, as he did in Indore. Dropping him would leave Ishan Kishan, the only other wicketkeeper in the squad, to take the gloves. Replacing Samson with Sooryavanshi is therefore a bigger decision than swapping one opener for another.

Will India reshuffle openers for the 4th T20I vs. West Indies?

Abhishek Sharma looks like the one fixed point.

He made 69 off 30 balls in Indore, with six sixes and five fours, as India were bowled out for 223 on the final ball. He also hit 61 off 28 balls against Pakistan in the gold-medal match. Any reshuffle would revolve around his partner.

The Asian Games final gave a hint of the alternative. Sooryavanshi opened with Abhishek in that match, while Samson was in the XI but lower down the order. Samson fell for 2 off four balls to Ahmed Daniyal. India still made 211/6 and won by 19 runs.

Both Abhishek and Sooryavanshi are left-handers. Pairing them would remove the left-right mix that Samson, a right-hander, provides at the top. In T20Is, Sooryavanshi has also not yet faced West Indies, having played only England, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

The series position matters too. India lead 2-1 in the five-match series, and a win in Hyderabad would clinch it before the final game in Bengaluru on October 17.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi scores in last five matches

Sooryavanshi's last five T20I innings include two Asian Games matches and the three games against Zimbabwe in Harare in July. They are listed below with the most recent first.

Sanju Samson scores in last five matches

Samson's last five innings run from the Asian Games in early October to the West Indies series. They are listed below with the most recent first.