The demand for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi to make his India debut is growing with every game that goes by. Former India head coach Ravi Shastri feels the teenager should have played in the T20I series against Ireland and says the squad has to find a spot for him, even if the team management has taken a cautious approach and is not pushing the 15-year-old into the playing XI.

India has kept their tried-and-true top-order combination of Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma, and Ishan Kishan, putting the teenager on the bench despite Sooryavanshi's IPL exploits and his historic first international call-up.

“Arre wo khelna chahiye tha, Ireland mein khilana chahiye tha. Wo aisa slow track hai, spongy track hai wo chappar pe marta udhar. Ek toh chota ground hai, pant nikal ke haath mein de deta. Usko udhar khilana tha. Abhi yahaan par khilayenge ki nahi, pata nahi. (He should play in Ireland. He would have hit the roof on those slow and spongy tracks. I don’t know whether they will play him in England or not," Shastri said on Sony Sports.

“You should play him as early as possible. He has thrashed everyone in the IPL; which fast bowler has he spared? You are making him warm the benches," he added.  

According to Shastri, Sooryavanshi's brave attitude and the freedom that comes with having no baggage at such a young age create a compelling case for his inclusion, in addition to the runs he scored in the IPL.

“You play him because he possesses an X factor. There’s no baggage. He has that exuberance of youth, with no fear. He can give you excellent starts, on which the middle class can capitalize. You have to find a place for him on the side. The earlier they can, the better it will be," he said.

Sooryavanshi came into the UK tour on the back of 776 runs in IPL 2026 and a 29-ball 94-run knock for India A against Sri Lanka A in Dambulla.