You will have to remove

Former cricketer Mohammad Kaif made a massive claim by predicting that a star player would be dropped in the near future to make way for Vaibhav Suryavanshi in the playing XI. India are currently in Japan, gearing up for their Asian Games 2026 cricket campaign.

Mohammad Kaif predicted that Tilak Varma, who is the vice-captain of the Indian T20I side, could make way for Suryavanshi. However, he also added all-rounder Shivam Dube’s name, stating that he was playing more as a batter than as an all-rounder who can bowl. He reckoned that either of the two would be removed in the next six months.

“I understand that Tilak is the vice-captain. But vice-captains have also been dropped before. I do not want to go there. Shivam Dube is not scoring in every game and still has to prove himself. Fielding is also his weakness, and he is not a proper bowling all-rounder. He is only playing as a batter. After six months, either Tilak or Dube will be out. You will have to remove one, and Suryavanshi will play. I am saying this right now,” he said in a video on his YouTube channel.

India played Japan in a one-off T20I in Japan. With the Asian Games 2026 also to be played in Japan, Mohammad Kaif reflected that the Men in Blue would not need six bowlers if the conditions are similar to those in the one-off T20I. In that case, he stated that pacer Yash Thakur, who is not as well established yet, could be left out to fit in Suryavanshi.

“If you make a team according to the conditions in the Asian Games, Suryavanshi can fit in. You can leave Yash Thakur out. He still has to prove himself. A deserving player is not getting a chance in the XI, and we are playing someone like Yash, who has to prove himself. He is playing over Suryavanshi because he is a bowler. There will not be flat or batting-friendly pitches. If the wickets are slow, you can leave Yash out. Sundar, Bishnoi, and Axar can bowl 12 overs. Arshdeep will bowl four. Bumrah is also there.”

Suryavanshi, who was the ‘Player of the Series’ in Zimbabwe, was dropped for the Afghanistan T20Is and was not part of the XI for the one-off game against Japan either.

Mohammad Kaif praises Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s awareness and approach

In the same video, Mohammad Kaif also praised Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s approach and hunger. He highlighted how the 15-year-old scored runs in the recently concluded Duleep Trophy and was also seen bowling in the tournament. Kaif felt that with no batters in the top six being able to bowl as such, it would give Suryavanshi an edge to stake his claim.

“Suryavanshi scored in the Duleep Trophy as well. He has improved his game. He was even bowling there. So he has understood that if he can bowl a few overs, he will have an advantage. It is a good thing. This is the hunger that he wants to make his place in the XI, and is seeing what he can do for it. I liked his mentality and approach. Looking at his overall development, you cannot keep him out for long,” he said.

Recently, former England cricketer Monty Panesar questioned Suryavanshi’s technique in red-ball cricket. In the same context, Mohammad Kaif gave the example of former Indian opener Virender Sehwag, who had a higher average in Test cricket despite being known for his aggressive batting style.

“The way Sehwag used to bat, everyone thought he was only a white-ball player. But he had an average of 50 in Tests. His average was lower in white-ball cricket. If he played all formats, Vaibhav is just 15 right now. The sample size is very small. The debate over whether he can play all three formats right now is far-fetched,” Mohammad Kaif argued.

Notably, Sehwag scored 8586 runs from 104 Tests at an average of 49.34. He scored 8273 runs from 251 ODIs and had an average of 35.05 in the format.