Wunderkind Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is all set to become the youngest Indian male cricketer to debut in international cricket, breaking legend Sachin Tendulkar’s record. The 15-year-old was selected in the squad for the upcoming T20I series against Ireland and England and the Asian Games this year.
The selection was on expected lines as the 15-year-old has been in sensational form, amassing 776 runs at a staggering strike rate of 237.30 in IPL 2026, which earned him the Orange Cap as the highest run-scorer in the tournament this year.
India will travel to Ireland for two T20Is (June 26 and 28), followed by a five-match T20I series against England between July 1 and 11 and three ODIs. The Asian Games are scheduled to be held in Aichi-Nagoya during September and October. Before the T20I tour, Sooryavanshi will play for India A in a tri-series in Sri Lanka also involving Afghanistan from June 9 to 21.
Tendulkar made his Test debut against Pakistan in Karachi on November 15, 1989, at the age of 16 years and 205 days. In women's international cricket, Shafali Verma holds the record – she made her T20I debut against South Africa on September 24, 2019, at the age of 15 years and 7 months.
BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia and the selection committee, headed by Ajit Agarkar and comprising R.P. Singh, Pragyan Ojha, Shiv Sundar Das and Ajay Ratra, met at the board headquarters in Mumbai today to pick India’s T20 squads for the two-match T20I series against Ireland, five-match series against England, Asian Games 2026 and India A's two multi-day matches in Sri Lanka.
Shreyas Iyer replaces Suryakumar Yadav as India’s new T20I skipper
Shreyas Iyer was confirmed as India's new T20I captain, and will lead India in the Ireland and England T20I series, as well as in the Asian Games 2026. He will replace India’s T20 World Cup-winning captain Suryakumar Yadav, who was dropped from all the squads.
Iyer, 31, returns to the T20I side for the first time after a match against Australia at Bengaluru on December 3, 2023. He has proven captaincy credentials, having led Kolkata Knight Riders to the IPL title in 2024, and Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings to the final in 2020 and 2025, respectively. He scored 604 runs at a strike rate of 175.07 in IPL 2025 and 498 runs at a strike rate of 168.81 in IPL 2026.
Yadav, 35, on the hand, has been going through a lean patch. In the 2026 T20 World Cup, he scored 242 runs in nine innings at a strike rate of 136.72, and in IPL 2026, he managed only 270 runs in 13 innings at an average of 20.76 and a strike rate of 147.54.
Middle-order batter Tilak Varma was named the vice-captain, while pacer Prince Yadav, who had an impressive season for Lucknow Super Giants, was included for the series against England and Ireland. The 23-year-old Varma has played 49 T20Is and scored 1390 runs at a strike-rate of 145.54, a tally that includes two centuries and six half-centuries.
India squad for Ireland and England T20 series:
Shreyas Iyer (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma (VC), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammad Siraj, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.
India squad for Asian Games:
Shreyas Iyer (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma (VC), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.
India squad for multi-day matches in Sri Lanka:
Dhruv Jurel (C & WK), Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal (VC), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Harsh, Saransh, Gurnoor Brar, Auqib Nabi, Yash Thakur, N. Jagadeesan, Aman Mokade, Sheikh Rashid and Zeeshan Ansari.
