Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, the youngest in India’s squad, will have a separate changing room during the England T20I series. The arrangement follows strict ECB and ICC safeguarding rules, which prohibit under-16 players from sharing adult dressing rooms.
The 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has already departed with the Indian senior squad to Belfast for the two-match T20I series against Ireland, starting on June 26. Thereafter, Sooryavanshi will land in the United Kingdom for the T20I assignment against England, which will begin on July 1.
The 15-year-old Sooryavanshi has been included in both India’s T20I squads, making him the youngest player to be picked in a national roster for the international series, surpassing batting legend Sachin Tendulkar’s 37-year-old record by earning his maiden senior national call-up at the age of just 16.
Though the young batting sensation is yet to arrive in England, the buzz around the 15-year-old prodigy and youngest national call-up has already grabbed headlines in English media, with experts and former cricketers discussing his rapid rise and the attention his inclusion has generated ahead of the England tour.
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Sooryavanshi To Get a Separate Changing Room in England
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and the India T20I squad are expected to touch down in England right after the conclusion of the second T20I against Ireland in Belfast, as the distance between both nations is relatively short, allowing for a swift and seamless transition into the UK leg of the bilateral series.
The eyes will be all on Sooryavanshi, whose batting talent has already taken the cricketing world by storm and is expected to showcase his blistering stroke-play and fearless intent on English soil. However, ahead of his arrival in England, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) will be providing a separate changing room for the young batting sensation.
According to a report by The Guardian, Sooryavvanshi will not share the communal dressing room with his senior teammates before and after matches, and thus he will be given the separate facilities across all the venues, where India will play in Durham, Manchester, Nottingham, Bristol, and Southampton.
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Vaibhav Sooryavanshi might be a part of India’s senior squad for the England tour, but he won’t share the dressing room with his adult teammates before or after the matches, complying with strict youth safeguarding laws.
Moreover, Sooryavanshi’s parents are also accompanying him to England, the expense of which will be completely borne by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) o ensure the 15-year-old prodigy receives constant familial support and personal care off the pitch while navigating his historic maiden UK tour with the senior team.
Why the Separate Changing Facility?
The decision to provide a separate changing room facility for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi stemmed from strict child protection laws and sports governance protocols. The matches hosted in England come under the jurisdiction of the ECB and the International Cricket Council, which mandate that minors under the age of 16 cannot share adult communal dressing rooms.
Under the mandatory ECB and ICC frameworks, which are called ‘Safe Hand’ policies, any cricketer below the age of 16 from all nations is required to have separate changing and safeguarding arrangements to ensure their protection and well-being in professional environments.
The precedent is not limited only to cricket, as similar safeguarding protocols are strictly enforced across all major sports in the United Kingdom. A high-profile domestic parallel occurred in English football when Arsenal Youth Academy sensation Max Dowman, who was 15 years old when he had to use separate changing facilities from the senior squad until he turned 16 in December.
A separate changing room for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi on his maiden England tour with the senior Indian team was reportedly agreed upon between ECB and BCCI to ensure appropriate logistical and safeguarding measures are put in place for all five T20I matches. However, Sooryavanshi can engage with his teammates in the dugout, team huddles, and tactical meetings while play is actively underway.
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