Expect the unexpected! The whole world was of the opinion that Vaibhav Sooryavanshi would become India’s youngest debutant in their cricket history. But that’ll have to wait. After his Indian Premier League (IPL) and India A exploits, the 15-year-old was expected to force either Sanju Samson or Abhishek Sharma out of India’s XI against Ireland in Belfast.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi to wait for India debut
However, on the eve of the India vs Ireland 1st T20I, India’s batting coach Sitanshu Kotak dropped a hint. He stated that the management won’t drop performers who helped the Men in Blue lift the T20 World Cup 2026. It was suggested that Sooryavanshi won’t come in for Samson or Abhishek.
After India’s new T20I captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss, he confirmed that Sooryavanshi won’t be making his India debut on June 26. His maiden cap and breaking Sachin Tendulkar’s record to become the youngest-ever Indian debutant will have to wait for some more time.
“Unfortunately, no. He’s a gun player. But obviously, we’ve got tremendous experience in the squad who have done brilliantly in the past couple of series for India. So, we are backing the majority of our cricketers who have been doing absolutely marvellously. He will get his opportunity when the time comes,” Shreyas said at the toss.
India’s Playing XI
Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna
Bench: Suryansh Shedge, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ravi Bishnoi, Prince Yadav
Other than Sooryavanshi, India has also decided to bench pace all-rounder Suryansh Shedge, with Shivam Dube already playing that role. Harshit Rana and Prasidh Krishna have been picked ahead of Prince Yadav, and Ravi Bishnoi doesn’t get a look-in either, as India opts for two spin all-rounders.
Youngest debutants in India history
| Player | Age |
|---|---|
| Sachin Tendulkar | 16 years, 205 days |
| Parthiv Patel | 17 years, 153 days |
| Maninder Singh | 17 years, 222 days |
| Harbhajan Singh | 17 years, 288 days |
| Laxmi Ratan Shukla | 17 years, 320 days |
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