Ajit Agarkar discussed the selection of 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi for India’s T20I series against Ireland and England, stating that the young batter’s performances made a strong case for his inclusion. Sooryavanshi received his first senior call-up after excelling in age-group Cricket and standing out during the IPL 2026 season.
Agarkar highlighted Sooryavanshi’s talent and maturity, expressing confidence in his ability to succeed at the International level. He noted that transitioning to senior cricket would be challenging, but the young player’s temperament and skills would serve him well.
“Vaibhav’s performances made it necessary for us to pick him. He’s young, but he’s had two strong IPL seasons and performed well at the Under-19 level. His talent is clear. We hope he can carry that ability into the international arena. He’ll face tougher challenges, but he has the potential and mindset to succeed,” Agarkar said at a press conference.
Agarkar also touched on the possibility of Sooryavanshi playing red-ball cricket, urging patience in his development. He stated that while the young player has deserved a spot in the white-ball team, the selectors are not rushing him into Test cricket.
“We selected him for the format where he has thrived. He’s still young and just starting out. Once the domestic season begins and he gains some experience in red-ball cricket, we’ll assess his progress. There’s no need to hurry,” Agarkar added.
India T20I squad for Ireland:
Shreyas Iyer (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Ishan Kishan (WK), Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma (VC), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakravarthy, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Harshit Rana, Ravi Bishnoi
India T20I squad for England:
Shreyas Iyer (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Ishan Kishan (WK), Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma (VC), Nitish Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakravarthy, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Harshit Rana, Ravi Bishnoi