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Well history has finally been made. 15-year-old prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has made his international debut in the second T20I of the five-match series against England at Manchester on July 4.
At 15 years and 99 days old, Sooryavanshi has become the youngest international cricketer for India, breaking Sachin Tendulkar’s nearly 36-year-old record, and the second youngest from full member nations, just behind Pakistan’s Hasan Raza.
Sooryavanshi has dominated headlines across 2026, first with a jaw dropping ICC U19 World Cup campaign, finishing as the tournament’s top scorer and best player, winning the title, and then most notably in his sophomore IPL season with the Rajasthan Royals, where once again finished as top scorer and smashed a whopping 72 sixes, the most by any player in the competitions history. These efforts saw him named in the squad for India’s T20I series against Ireland and England in the two islands.
The maiden appearance was not a matter of if, but when, as Sooryavanshi was slated to receive his international cap in the Ireland series, with the men in green considered steps below world champions on paper. Unbelievably, Ireland stunned India to win the series 2-0, their first ever win over them, and Sooryavanshi was made to wait till England for that debut. After another wait following the first T20I in Durham, Sooryavanshi was finally named in the starting XI of the second T20I at Old Trafford. Unfortunately for the youngster, the debut was quite unceremonious as he scored a measly 14 runs and India were beaten by four wickets, still shaking off the Ireland blues.
That isn’t to say there were not any promising moments from Sooryavanshi. The left hander stylishly smashed his Rajasthan teammate and England’s bowling spearhead, Jofra Archer with a classy, angled sweep over fine leg’s head for six. The promise is ever present and with three games to still go in this series, Sooryavanshi definitely has a lot more to offer.
“He’s got that unflinching attitude where he’s fearless,” said Indian captain Shreyas Iyer in the post-match presentation about Sooryavanshi’s debut.
“The way he approaches his game, it’s just sensational to watch and the way he bats in the nets, I think there’s something to learn out of him, the way he plays his fearless cricket.”
With the three defeats in the four games following the T20 World Cup triumph, and the one exception being a rained-out fixture, India are in a desperate situation to find their form. With one of the most exciting talents the game has seen in years, on top of his game, at India’s disposal, the men in blue can still bounce back hard as Sooryavanshi defines the generation to come.
