Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was left out of India’s playing XI for the first T20I against Ireland in Belfast on Friday (June 26), meaning he must wait to break Sachin Tendulkar’s record.
The Indian team management opted to stick with in-form, senior players rather than rushing the teenage batting prodigy into the lineup.
At 15 years and over 90 days old, Sooryavanshi is on the verge of shattering 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.
The second T20I against Ireland is slated to take place on Sunday (June 28), where Vaibhav will be 15 years and 93 days old. If he features in the paying XI, the wonder kid from Bihar would become the youngest debutant ever for India across both men's and women's cricket.
The record is currently held by Shafali Verma, who maiden appearance for India came at the age of 15 years and 239 days.
Speaking at the toss, India’s T20I skipper Shreyas Iyer emphasized the need to stick with players who have delivered strong performances for the team in recent past and hence Sooryavanshi failed to make the cut.
“(Vaibhav playing?) Unfortunately, no. He’s a gun player. But obviously, we’ve got tremendous experience in the squad who have done brilliant in the past couple of series for India. So we are backing majority of our cricketers who have been doing absolutely marvellous throughout the season. He will get his opportunity when the time comes. But for now, we are going with three genuine seamers, one all-rounder, and two spinners,” Shreyas said.
Sooryavanshi was rewarded with a place in the national side after a remarkable IPL 2026 campaign, where he finished as the Most Valuable Player and Orange Cap winner for the Rajasthan Royals (RR), hammering 776 runs in 16 innings at a staggering strike rate of 237.30.
Meanwhile, Shreyas Iyer won the toss and opted to field first. “We’re going to field first. It looks a good pitch. Yeah, it’s a new surface for us, and it’s the first time, and the majority of us haven’t played over here. So, considering the conditions, the environment, and also the wicket, we have decided to field first.”
The newly-appointed captain also opened up on head coach Gautam Gambhir’s message to the team.
“Honestly speaking, he’s just asked all the players to be themselves and be relentless in the approach, ruthless. And there are so many other adverbs which I could put in over here. But, you know, it comes from the experience, and the majority of us, as I’ve mentioned before, it’s our first time over here. So we need to get accustomed to the conditions as well as quickly as possible. And we’ve got a tremendous session yesterday. So, boys are looking in great shape and good form.”
When asked if this is the start of India's journey to win three T20 World Cup titles in a row, Iyer replied: “Absolutely. You know, we’re going to take one match at a time, and that’s the eventual goal. But right now, it’s over here, in Ireland, playing against Ireland, and get the best out of each other.”
Talking about his captaincy philosophy, Shreyas Iyer said: “I always keep saying that you don’t have to complicate things. Keep it as simple as possible. When I say that, you just need to be in the present and not think much about or dwell into past or future. If you’re there in the moment and you’re enjoying the game, that’s all is required from each one.”
