Aday before India’s UK tour, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi participated in his first-ever practice session with the national team. Sooryavanshi, 15, could become the youngest to play international cricket for India.
Ahead of the start of the Ireland series, Sooryavanshi practised with the players in Belfast. In a video shared by the Sony Sports Network, the series’ official broadcaster, Sooryavanshi can be seen sprinting with captain Shreyas Iyer, playing with football and getting some useful tips from Ishan Kishan, who made his debut in 2021.
There are very high chances of Sooryavanshi getting his maiden T20I cap in the series opener itself. He is an opening batter and one of the openers will have to be dropped or rested.
Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson were India’s openers towards the business end of the 2026 T20 World Cup. The reigning T20 WC champions haven’t played a T20I since then. Kishan looks set to continue batting at number 3 while captain Shreyas Iyer might bat at number 4.
Start of a new era
The India- T20I series will mark the start of a new era in India’s T20I cricket. The selectors made the shocking call to sack Suryakumar Yadav from captaincy despite him leading the Men in Blue to a title win in the 2026 T20 WC.
Suryakumar’s below-par form with the bat also saw him lose his spot in the squad. Shreyas Iyer replaced him as the captain. The right-handed batter hasn’t played a T20I since December 2023.
Iyer was rewarded for his purple patch on the captaincy front in IPL. He is the only captain to take three different IPL teams (Punjab Kings, Delhi Capitals and Kolkata Knight Riders) to the final. Kolkata Knight Riders won the IPL 2024 trophy.
Iyer also captained Mumbai to a title win in the 2024-25 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. In 2018-19, Iyer-led Mumbai defeated Gautam Gambhir’s Delhi in the final to win the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Iyer is the present vice-captain of the ODI team.