3 min readUpdated: Jul 4, 2026 07:07 PM IST
It is happening. At 15 years old, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi on Saturday became the youngest to play international cricket for the India. The teenage sensation was handed his maiden cap ahead of India’s second T20I against England at Old Trafford by Tilak Varma, who had captained him in the tri-series that India A had played in Sri Lanka before the senior team’s ongoing tour of Ireland and England. Sooryavanshi has thus broken Sachin Tendulkar’s long-standing record for the youngest Indian debutant in men’s international cricket.
He has also broken the record for being the youngest Indian in international cricket overall, previously held by Shafali Verma who was a few days older than Sooryavanshi is when she made her debut in September 2019. India captain Shreyas Iyer said at the toss that Sooryavanshi has replaced opener Sanju Samson in the lineup.
FOLLOW LIVE | India vs England 2nd T20I
Tendulkar had famously made his debut aged 16 years 205 days old in a Test match against Pakistan in Karachi in November 1989. Shafali was 15 years and 239 days old when she made her debut in a T20I against South Africa in Surat. Sooryavanshi is 15 years and 99 days old.
“You’ve seen him in the last couple of months, the way he’s been smashing the ball, taking on the best of the bowlers, shows immense confidence that he possesses,” said Iyer at the toss, which India won and chose to bat first. The five-match series remains tied at 0-0 with the first match having been washed out on Wednesday.
Iyer said that he was under no pressure to select Sooryavanshi. The 15 year old’s astonishing performances in the IPL, coupled with India’s batting failures in a historic 2-0 defeat to Ireland in the preceding series had led to increased calls for Sooryavanshi to be fit into the top order. “I feel that he completely deserves to be in the squad the way he has performed in the last couple of months and years. He’s someone who doesn’t take pressure at all. The way you see him inside the dressing room, he’s got that unflinching nature. And so good to have him around,” said Iyer.
“I’m sure he’s very well aware of what’s going to come in these matches. And as I mentioned, that he’s got a calm demeanour. He doesn’t take pressure at all. And the way he bats in the nets, the way he takes on the bowlers in the nets, literally shows that what sort of character he is,” said the India captain.
India playing XI for 2nd T20I vs England: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan(w), Shreyas Iyer(c), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Harshit Rana, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy
