Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is just one match away from turning his dream into reality. The 15-year-old batting wonder was already seen in great rhythm at the nets before the first T20I against Ireland. There is a strong chance that he could make his international debut on Friday (June 26).
If the Bihar lad is handed the debut cap in Belfast, the teenager will enter the record books as the youngest player to play for India in international cricket. While doing so, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (15 years, 91 days) will surpass the legendary Sachin Tendulkar, who made his India debut at 16.
Belfast turns up to watch Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
Well, even before the two-match T20I series between India and Ireland gets underway on Friday, all the attention in Belfast is on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. There was reportedly a different kind of excitement at the practice ground in Belfast.
Even though Belfast is not known for a cricket craze, many local fans, local media, and Indian fans came to watch India's training. Most of them were waiting at the practice ground to catch a glimpse of the young Vaibhav, who has taken Indian cricket by storm in such a short time.
Notably, the 15-year-old's outstanding IPL 2026 season with Rajasthan Royals changed everything for him. The 15-year-old finished as the tournament's highest run-scorer with 776 runs, earning the Orange Cap and a place in India's T20I squad for the Ireland and England tour as well as for the Asian Games 2026 in Japan. Now, he is on the verge of a historic occasion.
India's preparation interrupted before Ireland T20Is!
However, India's final training session on Thursday had a small problem at the start. One of the practice pitches did not have a sightscreen behind the bowler, making it difficult for the batters to see the ball clearly. The Indian team management immediately informed Cricket Ireland about the issue.
The organizers immediately made the required arrangements after discussing the matter with India's operations manager. Once everything was fixed, the practice session continued smoothly. A BCCI source was quoted as saying by PTI: “Yes, there have been some issues with practice facilities, but the Indian team's support staff have brought this to the notice of Irish officials.”
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's net session ends with Gautam Gambhir meeting
Meanwhile, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi started with stretching and warm-up drills before sweating at the nets. As reported by Revsportz, the youngster spent around 45 minutes at the nets, and he faced both pace and spin as the coaches closely watched every shot.
He first faced fast bowlers Harshit Rana and Prasidh Krishna before taking on the spin attack of Ravi Bishnoi, Axar Patel, and Washington Sundar. It was his first proper training session with the senior Indian team, and he looked comfortable throughout.
The most interesting moment came after the batter finished batting. Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir walked over to the youngster and spoke with him for a few minutes. Even the batting coach Sitanshu Kotak also joined the conversation, and the three were seen having a serious discussion.
The scene caught everyone's attention at the ground and added more excitement over Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's chances of making the playing XI in the first T20I match against Ireland on Friday.
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