The teenage phenomenon Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has been handed his maiden India call-up for their T20 series against Ireland and England.
An array of outrageous knocks in the Indian Premier League led to the 15-year-old opener collecting the most valuable player award after amassing 776 runs at a staggering strike-rate of 237.30.
His performances for Rajasthan Royals have earned him a place in India’s senior squad for the first time, having been instrumental in the under-19s winning their 50-over World Cup this year with an epic 175 against England in the final.
Sooryavanshi is in line for his international debut in Belfast, with India taking on Ireland in two T20s at Stormont on 26 and 28 June. A reunion with his Royals teammate Jofra Archer could then be on the cards as India take on England in a five-match series from 1 July.
If he plays on the tour, Sooryavanshi will become India’s youngest male debutant, eclipsing Sachin Tendulkar, who made his international bow aged 16 years and 205 days in a Test against Pakistan in 1989.
India will be captained by Shreyas Iyer in both assignments, replacing Suryakumar Yadav, who has been dropped despite overseeing their triumphant T20 World Cup campaign on home soil this year. Yadav made 242 runs in nine innings in the tournament at a strike rate of 136.72, though he had a modest IPL season, averaging 20.76 in 13 knocks.
Jasprit Bumrah, India’s talismanic fast bowler, has been rested, having struggled during the IPL, while the all-rounder Hardik Pandya also sits out the tour, with the uncapped fast bowler Prince Yadav called up.
