Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Sanju Samson and Gautam Gambhir (BCCI Photo)
The youngster had made an impression in his last appearance, smashing 45 off just 19 balls in the third T20I in Wellington, but did not feature in Friday’s match despite India having already secured the series.
The key word here is break,” Karthik said. Sooryavanshi missed the fourth T20I in Auckland after Ishan Kishan recovered from the injury that had ruled him out of the previous two matches. “I know the world will want Vaibhav to play. If they want to play Vaibhav, it has got to be in place of Abhishek, to give him a break, and that is how it should be. Every time there is anything related to Vaibhav, it is always Sanju. If you want to really fit in Vaibhav, Abhishek can take a break.
Samson started the series on a strong note, scoring a match-winning 67 off 33 balls in Christchurch to claim the Player of the Match award. India have already clinched the five-match series 3-1, with the final T20I offering another opportunity to assess their combinations ahead of the next assignment.