Following India’s shocking 0-2 T20I series defeat to Ireland, assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate defended leaving out 15-year-old prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, asserting the record-breaking IPL top-scorer must follow established team protocols before earning his international debut
Published Date – 29 June 2026, 11:44 AM
Belfast: India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate has declared Vaibhav Sooryavanshi ready for international cricket but also made it clear that the 15-year-old batting sensation will have to go through the same process that other players in the side have followed before being handed their debut.
Sooryavanshi’s omission from the T20 series against Ireland has become a major talking point after the T20 world champion Indian team ended up being whitewashed 0-2, the second loss being by just one run here on Sunday.
“He (Sooryavanshi) is absolutely ready to play international cricket, there is no doubt about that but also Sanju Samson is a guy who went a long way to win us the World Cup three months ago,” Ten Doeschate said when the inevitable query on Sooryavanshi came up during the post-match press conference.
“He has got a fairly good IPL, and it is important to give players confidence and message to the players, we want to give guys a long run in the team.
“We are all excited to see Vaibhav play but he has to go through the same process but certainly no question about how good he is,” he asserted echoing a view that was expressed by batting coach Sitanshu Kotak at the beginning of the series.
Sooryavanshi finished as the top scorer in this year’s IPL with a jaw-dropping strike rate of over 230. He amassed 776 runs to be adjudged the Most Valuable Player as well as the Emerging Player of the season.
The anticipation surrounding his inclusion in the playing XI is expected to grow further as India now head to England for a T20 series beginning July 1 in Chester-le-Street.
If he makes his debut during this tour, he will become India’s youngest international debutant, surpassing a record held by the great Sachin Tendulkar, who made his debut as a 16-year-old.
