Teen batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is all set to make his India debut following a record-breaking IPL season after selectors picked him for the upcoming T20 series in Ireland and England.
Sooryavanshi, 15, forced selectors to pick him after a breakout IPL campaign where he led the scoring charts with 776 runs in 16 matches, while maintaining a strike rate of well over 200. He also broke Caribbean legend Chris Gayle’s record for most sixes in a season.
His performances for Rajasthan Royals made him the first player in IPL to be named both the Most Valuable Player (MVP) and the Best Emerging Player.
He was almost guaranteed to break into the Indian team this year. The selectors decided to not delay his graduation by picking him for the next international assignment which includes two T20s in Ireland at the end of this month and five T20s in England from the beginning of July.
Sooryavanshi is all set to become the youngest player to represent an Indian men’s senior team, beating the record set by the great Sachin Tendulkar, who made his debut aged 16.
“We’ve seen what he can do, towards play-offs, almost single-handedly carried Rajasthan Royals,” selection panel chairman Ajit Agarkar told reporters.
“Not just this season, he had a great start and to back it up in a competition that is as competitive and high-pressure, he’s a game-changer. We’ve got high hopes of him and he has picked himself.”
Sooryavanshi also finds himself in the squad for the Asian Games which takes place in September in Japan.
Meanwhile, India’s T20 World Cup winning captain Suryakumar Yadav was removed from his position and also lost his spot in the team after a prolonged slump in form and doubts over fitness.
Shreyas Iyer, who had long been seen as a more qualified leader, was named as India’s T20 skipper even though he was not even part of the squad that defended its world title earlier in the year at home.
Iyer had led Kolkata Knight Riders to the IPL in 2024 and taken Punjab Kings to the final the following year. However, he has not played a T20I since 2023 and has been catapulted straight into the hot seat.
“Led a team to IPL title, his own performances been good. He was close to being part of the World Cup squad, in my opinion was a stand-out candidate,” Agarkar said.
In other news, fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah has not been selected for the T20 tour with selectors focusing on his workload. Bumrah is now expected to feature in longer format matches and crucial tournaments. He was selected in a full-strength team for the Asian Games.
Hardik Pandya is not part of any of the T20 squads.
The Asian Games men’s competition will begin on September 24 with the final on October 3.
India T20 squad for Ireland and England tour: Shreyas Iyer (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan, Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma, Nitish Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakravarthy, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav
Asian Games: Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma, Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh
