Vaibhav Sooryavanshi appears to drop hint on replacing Sanju Samson for India vs West Indies 4th T20I at Hyderabad originally appeared on Cricket News. Add Cricket News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has posted a "Stay Tuned" teaser on Instagram, which fans reads as a hint that he could replace Sanju Samson.
- India leads the five-match series 2-1 and plays the fourth T20I in Hyderabad on October 14, starting at 7:00 pm IST.
- Samson has scored 11, 82 and 3 in the three T20Is so far, while Sooryavanshi was left out of the XI in Lucknow and Ranchi.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's social media teaser adds a twist to India's opening debate
India took a 2-1 lead in the West Indies series with a 14-run win in Indore. Abhishek Sharma's 69 off 30 balls carried them to 223, and West Indies finished on 209/7 in reply. The series now moves to the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad, where the fourth T20I starts at 7:00 pm IST (local time) on October 14.
The question hanging over that match is who opens alongside Abhishek. Samson has held the slot through the series, while the 15-year-old Sooryavanshi has been waiting in the squad. He was left out in Lucknow and Ranchi, with the team management preferring the experience of Samson and Abhishek at the top for balance.
Samson's returns have given the debate fuel. He made 11 off nine balls in Lucknow, hit 82 off 41 in Ranchi and was dismissed for 3 by Shamar Joseph in Indore. Against that backdrop, an Instagram post from Sooryavanshi has set off fresh talk of a change.
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How Sooryavanshi's 'Stay Tuned' post is being read
The reading comes from Sports Yaari, which broke down what Sooryavanshi shared. The channel described the post, saying, “So, Suryavanshi has uploaded four or five photos here and written ‘Stay Tuned.’ There’s a tornado emoji and a timing-related emoji as well, suggesting that something is coming soon.”
Did Instagram Drop a Big Hint About Vaibhav Sooryavanshi? 👀🔥
— Sports Yaari (@YaariSports) October 12, 2026
Could he feature in tomorrow’s match as India leads the series 2-1? With Sanju Samson struggling for runs, will Team India make a big change?#VaibhavSooryavanshi#SanjuSamson#TeamIndia#INDvsWIpic.twitter.com/1Jc7sEOkgT
The speculation also pointed to the music behind it. “Another interesting thing is that he has used Sidhu Paaji’s music. If you look at the trending music used in this Instagram post, that’s quite interesting,” Sports Yaari said.
It then pointed to a precedent. “Suryavanshi has written ‘Stay Tuned.’ If you remember, the last time he made a similar post, he played a match the following day,” Sports Yaari said.
Samson was the other half of the discussion. “Now, coming to Sanju, he hasn’t been scoring runs. He scored runs in one match, but it’s been two matches since then..,” Sports Yaari said.
The scorecards show a more mixed run. Samson's 82 came in Ranchi, and the only match since is Indore, where he made 3. His 11 in Lucknow came before the 82.
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Why a Sooryavanshi call-up in Hyderabad is not a given
An Instagram teaser is not sufficient evidence. The XI is decided by head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Shreyas Iyer, who kept an unchanged side for the second T20I and picked Samson and Abhishek over Sooryavanshi in Lucknow. The case for change is there but modest.
Samson's 82 off 41 was India's top score in a 249/5 that still lost to West Indies' 252/4 in Ranchi, and his 3 in Indore came in a game India won anyway. Sooryavanshi scored 14 off 10 balls with two sixes on his T20I debut against England at Old Trafford in July, and he and Abhishek added 50 in the first five overs.
India lead 2-1 with the fifth T20I in Bengaluru on October 17, so Hyderabad offers room to experiment. Morne Morkel said before the series that Gambhir would look to rotate.
It would be ideal for India to seal the series in the fourth before making rotating the team for the dead-rubber at Bengaluru.If the management does move, Samson is the obvious name to make way. Until the toss, the teaser remains only a hint.
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