Indian wonderkid Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has England’s bowlers in his sights after receiving his first T20 call-up for India at the age of just 15.
Sooryavanshi will become the youngest male player to feature in an India squad after being named in India’s T20 squad for two matches in Ireland this month and five in England in July, as well as the Asia Games in Japan later this year.
The 15-year-old was the outstanding batsman in the recent Indian Premier League, topping the run-scoring charts with 776 from just 327 balls, at an extraordinary strike-rate of 237. The Rajasthan Royals batsman struck 72 sixes, easily breaking the record for the most in an IPL season, set by the West Indian great Chris Gayle in 2012.
Having flayed bowlers to all parts of India, the baby-faced teenager will bring his unique back-lift and extraordinary ball-striking ability to England, starting at Chester-le-Street on July 1. Before that, India play a pair of T20s in Belfast.
He is not totally new to English players; a year ago, aged 14, he put in some extraordinary performances against England Under-19s on a tour to this country, before making an incredible 175 from 80 balls in the Under-19 World Cup final four months ago.
“Vaibhav’s performances – he almost forced us to pick him,” India selector Ajit Agarkar said. “I know he’s young, but two IPLs in a row, and we also know what he did at the Under-19 level… We can all see the kind of talent he has. We’re hopeful if and when he gets an opportunity, he shows the same ability. There will be tougher challenges but he has shown great promise and temperament. We’re all as hopeful as everyone is. He has picked himself through his own performances.”
Sooryavanshi could form a tantalising opening partnership with another left-hander, Abhishek Sharma, although such is the depth of Indian white-ball talent it is unclear if he will go straight into the side. Former England captain Michael Vaughan described his call-up as “thoroughly deserved”.
His early call-up is reminiscent of Sachin Tendulkar, who made his Test debut in 1989 aged just 16. Sooryavanshi has played some first-class cricket, but has excelled in T20 cricket, and a Test call-up seems some way off yet.
“We picked him for the format in which he has excelled,” Agarkar said. “Red-ball, he’s a kid. Just starting his journey. When the domestic season starts and he plays a bit of red-ball cricket, we’ll wait, why jump the gun? One step at a time.”
The India T20 squad will be led by Shreyas Iyer, who replaces World Cup-winning captain Suryakumar Yadav, who is no longer part of the squad. Jasprit Bumrah is rested for the tour of England with the World Test Championship in mind.