Former Indian batter Mohammad Kaif believes Vaibhav Sooryavanshi might be a tad nervous ahead of the three-match T20I series against Zimbabwe. Sooryavanshi made his T20I debut against England in the second T20I of the series and was dismissed after scoring 14 runs off 10 deliveries.

In the next two T20Is, the youngster returned with scores of 13 and 15. However, the prodigy batter was dropped in the final T20I as Sanju Samson replaced him in the playing XI.

With no Sanju Samson in the squad for the Zimbabwe T20Is, Sooryavanshi is expected to get all three games against the hosts.

“Vaibhav Suryavanshi got the chance, but a big score did not come from his bat. He would also wish that he contributes for the team, because he is a class batter. It is a huge thing to win the Orange Cap in the IPL as a 15-year-old. Right now, he might be nervous. If he scores a 50-60 run knock, then he will shine. He is a great talent, there is no doubt about that at all,” Mohammad Kaif said on Cricbuzz.

Meanwhile, India is yet to register a single win under Shreyas Iyer’s captaincy as the Men in Blue suffered six losses on the UK tour. Kaif said instead of thinking long-term, India should look to get a win under their belt in Iyer’s leadership.

“Even before the India captaincy, Shreyas Iyer had a losing run in the second half of IPL 2026. Then he got the opportunity to lead India, before that he was not even in the team. He came into the team as captain, and this has never happened before in Indian cricketing history,” Mohammad Kaif said.

“Now, after losing against Ireland, where no one expected India to lose, and then after losing to England, the captain is the one who is under the most pressure. At least get off the mark, right now, we are not even able to start. We will run the marathon, but we are not even able to hit the 100-metre mark. So, that pressure will be there,” he continued.

The first T20I between India and Zimbabwe will be played at Harare on Thursday.