Shastri believes once Sooryavanshi breaks into the playing XI, he will likely cement his spot for years to come.
Teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was benched again as the first T20I between India and England in Chester-le-Street on Wednesday (July 1) was abandoned due to rain. India's team management chose to sit the 15-year-old out despite losing 0-2 to Ireland in Belfast last week.
Head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Shreyas Iyer have opted to stick with the World Cup-winning opening pair of Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma. While Sharma managed scores of 49 and 59, Samson has struggled, posting single-digit totals of 5, 0, and 1.
Amid the growing calls for Sooryavanshi’s international debut, former India head coach Ravi Shastri has suggested that regardless of when the young prodigy makes the playing XI, the experience of being part of the senior national squad will be a great learning curve.
“I’m very happy they picked him in the squad. You don’t want him, after an IPL like that, to be hanging around. [You want him to] come be with the team,” Shastri said while speaking to Sky Sports.
“You get to face Raghu [throwdown specialist] every day, sharpen your reflexes, learn from what you’re watching,” he added.
However, Shastri still believes Sooryavanshi should have received his debut India cap on the tour of Ireland.
“[Belfast is] such a slow and spongy track, he would’ve hit it on the roof as it was a small ground. He would’ve taken their pants off. He has beaten everyone in IPL. Give him a game as soon as you can,” Shastri remarked.
At 15 years and over 90 days old, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is on the verge of shattering Sachin Tendulkar’s 36-year-old record to become the youngest debutant in men’s cricket for India. Tendulkar was 16 years and 205 days when he made his international debut against Pakistan in 1989.
Sooryavanshi earned his maiden India call-up on the back of a record-breaking IPL 2026 campaign where he finished as the Most Valuable Player and Orange Cap winner for the Rajasthan Royals (RR), hammering 776 runs at a staggering strike rate of 237.30. Along the way, he dominated high-profile bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah, Pat Cummins, and Josh Hazlewood.
If the wonder kid from Bihar features in the five-T20I series against England at some point, he would become the youngest debutant ever for India across both men's and women's cricket. The record is currently held by Shafali Verma, whose maiden appearance for India came at the age of 15 years and 239 days.
Shastri warned the senior players that Sooryavanshi possesses such rare, generational talent that once he breaks into the playing XI, he will likely cement his spot for years to come.
“Don’t forget he’s 15. It’s the only time it’s happened, when a player comes on tour with his parents — even Tendulkar didn’t have his parents on tour — because he’s so young.”
“When you get the opportunity, you should be ready. Because I think once he comes in and smells the coffee, it will be very difficult for someone to replace him,” Shastri said.