15-Year-Old Sooryavanshi in Line for England T20Is
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- India were beaten by Ireland in a second-T20I thriller by one run in Belfast, sealing Ireland's first-ever series victory over India in any format and ending India's unbeaten T20I series run since their August 2023 loss to West Indies, with 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi notably omitted from the squad.
- Vaibhav Sooryavanshi could break Sachin Tendulkar's record as the youngest player to represent India if picked for the five-match T20I series against England starting Wednesday July 1 at Durham — Tendulkar was 16 years and 205 days old when he debuted in a 1989 ODI against Pakistan.
- Sooryavanshi became the first player in IPL history to sweep both the Most Valuable Player and Emerging Player awards in 2026, winning the Orange Cap with 776 runs in 16 matches including 72 sixes — surpassing Chris Gayle's record for most sixes in an IPL season.
- Rajasthan Royals bought Sooryavanshi at the IPL auction for £105,000, making him the youngest player ever bought at auction at 13; he hit a six off his first-ever IPL ball at age 14 years and 23 days and scored a 35-ball century against Gujarat Titans nine days later.
- Kumar Sangakkara, director of cricket at Rajasthan Royals, told Sky Sports he once watched Sooryavanshi put Jofra Archer 'to the sword' in a net session, with Archer eventually stopping and laughing as the 14-year-old treated his pace bowling 'with absolute disdain'.
- Sooryavanshi already tormented England in the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup final in February, smashing 175 from 80 balls in a 100-run victory and earning Player of the Series, prompting Sky Sports' Mark Butcher to compare his ball-striking to Sir Garfield Sobers.
- India are building towards defending their white-ball title at the 2028 ICC T20 World Cup, with selection panel chairman Ajit Agarkar saying of Sooryavanshi: 'He has picked himself. He's a game-changer and we've got high hopes for him.'
Why it matters: Sooryavanshi's potential selection for the England series would make him the youngest Indian cricketer ever, surpassing a 37-year-old Tendulkar record, while giving England a preview of the player India is grooming as the centerpiece of their 2028 T20 World Cup defence.
