India T20 captain Shreyas Iyer said on Wednesday that Vaibhav Sooryavanshi will have to wait for his opportunity to secure a place in the playing XI, given the consistent performances of Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson at the top of the order.

Iyer stressed that the young batter cannot expect to walk straight into the team and will get opportunities at the appropriate time.

Since earning his maiden call-up for the England and Ireland tours earlier this year, Sooryavanshi has featured in just eight of India's 21 T20Is. Meanwhile, Abhishek and Samson have strengthened their positions as openers with regular contributions. Both batters also played important roles in India's successful defence of their T20I World Cup title earlier this year.

"It's important that a talent like him (Sooryavanshi) should always be happy around the dressing room," Iyer said on the eve of a five-match series against New Zealand, PTI reported.

"He is very young, he has more years to get opportunities. It's not like he can walk in right now, because our openers are scoring consistently, and they have won the World Cup."

During the Asian Games, Sanju Samson moved to the No. 3 position to make room for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi at the top of the batting order. Shreyas Iyer, meanwhile, believes that the youngster's experience of playing in overseas conditions will prove valuable in preparing him for future international challenges.

"So, if you see, when he is coming overseas, he will get a fair idea how to play on these particular wickets.

"Next time, whenever he comes in these conditions, he will be very well-prepared. And he can also instruct the other team members, whoever comes here for the first time."

India reached New Zealand after a demanding month of cricket, which saw the team play consecutive home series against Afghanistan and the West Indies, while also competing in the Asian Games.