Vaibhav Sooryavanshi found himself at the centre of another talking point on Wednesday after the India A opener survived on nought following a contentious third-umpire call during the 5th match of the Tri Nation A Series in Sri Lanka against Afghanistan A.The 15-year-old, who has endured a modest series so far, was handed a reprieve when Faridoon Dawoodzai appeared to pull off a stunning one-handed catch at point off Shams Ur Rahman. While the dismissal looked clean in real time, the third umpire ruled that a part of the ball had touched the ground during the completion of the catch, allowing Sooryavanshi to continue. On replay, the third umpire repeatedly asked for frame-by-frame replays before concluding that there was evidence of the ball brushing the turf.“Some part of the ball is touching the ground, made my decision,” the umpire said before the green light flashed, much to the disbelief of the Afghanistan players.The decision immediately sparked debate on social media, with fans split over whether the youngster had been fortunate to survive.“How is that catch not fair? That was as clean a catch as they come. Sooryavanshi is lucky here,” wrote one user.Another said, “I think that was out, but Sooryavanshi gets a life, make it big now.”“Really lucky to survive that call. The evidence of the ball being grassed was very hazy and unclear,” posted another fan.Some, however, pointed out that the third umpire had gone by the available evidence and the batter had earned the benefit of doubt.Ironically, that wasn’t the only slice of luck for Sooryavanshi. Shortly after surviving the controversial catch, the left-hander was put down again, receiving a second reprieve.The teenager eventually got out in the 8th over after scoring 38 off 28 balls, which included two sixes and four fours. He mishit a Faridoon Dawoodzai’s delivery and was caught by Khalid Taniwal at cover-point. It ended a promising 75-run opening stand with Priyansh Arya. The latest episode comes just days after Sooryavanshi was involved in a heated exchange with Sri Lanka’s Vishen Halambage during India A’s previous game, where the two players had to be separated following a push-and-shove incident. BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia had later urged players to focus on the game and avoid “collateral issues”.Despite the attention surrounding him, Sooryavanshi has struggled to make a significant impact with the bat in the series, making his twin escapes against Afghanistan A all the more noteworthy. On the back of a stellar IPL 2026 campaign and earning his maiden India call-up, the left-handed opener has managed scores of 14, 44 and 21 so far in the series.
