3 min readUpdated: Jun 29, 2026 10:44 AM IST
Despite India’s stunning 0-2 debacle in the T20I series in Ireland, where the top-order crumbled twice in three days, 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi will have to bide his time on the bench before being marked for his debut, assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate said on Sunday.
India suffered back-to-back losses to the Irish side in Belfast, their first series loss across 16 series and three years. On Sunday, India’s bid to draw the series level fell flat as they fell by one run in a middling 155-run chase. Compounding the woes of the new captain, Shreyas Iyer, was his own form in both games, as well as the indifferent run of openers Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson.
As Sooryavanshi warmed the bench, both Abhishek and Samson fell for golden ducks in the chase, a first instance for India where both openers fell for first-ball blobs.
Sooryavanshi’s presence in the squad has captured all the buzz. He enjoyed a record-breaking IPL season at the top of the Rajasthan Royals batting order and later powered India A’s Tri-Nation series win with a scintillating 11-ball fifty in the final against Sri Lanka.
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ten Doeschate admitted that while Sooryavanshi is all set to take flight in international cricket, the presence of accomplished World Cup stars will delay his debut.
‘ten Doeschate defends Samson’
“He’s absolutely ready to play international cricket, there’s no doubt about that,” ten Doeschate said when asked how far Sooryavanshi was from making his international debut. “But also, I think it’s not a question to say you can leave Sanju Samson out. A guy who went a long way to winning India the World Cup three months ago. A guy who’s had a fairly good IPL,” Doeschate told reporters.
Ryan Ten Doeschate on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi debut pic.twitter.com/v35kkW6IQo
— Kashif (@KashifNdmCric) June 29, 2026
“It’s important in terms of giving players confidence, and the message we’re sending to players. We want to give guys a long run in the team. So, you know, as ready as Vaibhav is and as excited as we are and you are to see him play, he’s going to have to go through the same process as everyone else and, you know, bide his time and wait. But certainly no questions about how good he is and how ready he is,” he added.
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This will likely mean that Sooryavanshi will continue to be on the bench at the start of the five-match T20Is in England, starting on July 1. The Bihar prodigy has only been named in the T20I squad in England, and is also named in India’s Asian Games squad for the competition in September.
