India have handed teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi his first international call-up – and could unleash the 15-year-old phenom on England.
Sooryavanshi produced a standout campaign in the recently-concluded edition of the Indian Premier League, topping the run charts with 776 for the Rajasthan Royals at a remarkable strike rate of 237.30. The opening batter was named the IPL’s most valuable player.
The powerful left-hander was part of the India under-19 side that beat England to the World Cup in February and has now earned a first senior call-up for the T20 tour to Europe.
Sooryavanshi is likely to earn his T20I debut against Ireland with two matches in Belfast on 26 and 28 June, before India take on England in a five-match series.
Should he feature, Sooryavanshi will become India’s youngest ever 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 have a new captain for the itinerary, with Suryakumar Yadav left out despite skippering the side to T20 World Cup glory on home soil earlier this year.
Shreyas Iyer steps in to lead a 15-man squad, with quick bowler Prince Yadav another uncapped inclusion rewarded for an impressive IPL.
Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya have been rested from the series.
India T20I Squad for Ireland and England series: Shreyas Iyer (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma, Nitish Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakravarthy, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
