Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's debut sparks debate as India drops Sanju Samson in England T20 series
Fifteen‑year‑old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi made his international debut for India in the second T20I against England at Old Trafford, becoming the youngest Indian and the youngest player from a Test‑playing nation to appear in a T20I. He scored 14 runs off 10 balls.
His selection saw opening batsman Sanju Samson, the recent T20 World Cup Player of the Tournament, omitted from the playing XI. Former internationals Ambati Rayudu and Sanjay Manjrekar publicly backed Samson, questioning the decision.
India’s squad for the ongoing five‑match series against England, as well as the upcoming T20I series against Zimbabwe, retained Sooryavanshi and excluded Samson, while adding several newcomers such as Prabhjot Singh and Ashok Sharma. In the same period, Tilak Varma became the youngest batsman to reach 1,500 T20I runs, overtaking senior players.
Ahead of the third T20I at Trent Bridge, Sooryavanshi suffered a chest‑injury scare during a nets session with throwdown specialist Raghavendra Dwivedi. No official injury update has been released.
England led the series 1‑0 after winning the second match by four wickets; the third T20I is set for Tuesday, 7 July, at Nottingham’s Trent Bridge.