England white-ball captain Harry Brook on Tuesday played down the threat of the 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi ahead of the first T20I against India in Durham. The left-hander might not have made his debut against Ireland in the two-match series, but all the build-up for the contest between India and England has been about Sooryavanshi, and whether the boy from Samastipur, Bihar, would break Sachin Tendulkar’s record to become the youngest-ever debutant for India in men’s cricket.
Sooryavanshi was named in the squad for the series against Ireland and England on the back of a phenomenal IPL 2026 season for the Rajasthan Royals, where he smashed 776 runs at a strike rate of 237.31. Days after being picked for the UK tour, the youngster smashed the fastest-ever List-A fifty off just 11 balls against Sri Lanka A.
However, the think tank comprising captain Shreyas Iyer and head coach Gautam Gambhir stuck with Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson for the two T20Is against Ireland, relegating Sooryavanshi to the bench.
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Ahead of the first T20I against India, England captain Brook was full of praise for Sooryavanshi but added that he remains confident in his bowlers, saying they can execute their plans.
“He looks like a very, very talented player, obviously done extremely well in the last year, year and a half and we’ve got our tactics and and hopefully they work and there’s been a lot of digging behind the scenes to see what we can do to try and stop them from playing their best cricket,” Brook told reporters in the pre-match press conference ahead of the first T20I.
When asked what he was doing when he was 15, Brook let out a chuckle and said, “I was playing academy cricket for Yorkshire in the league.”
Will Sooryavanshi play?
The suspense still remains over Sooryavanshi’s place in the playing XI for the first game against England. On Tuesday, India skipper Shreyas Iyer refused to answer about the playing XI. However, he hinted that the same combination of Sanju and Abhishek might continue as the management doesn’t want to shy away from their plans.
“You never know what is going to happen. Our hands are also tied at the moment regarding what we are going to do. Because this is very private. This is something we discuss as a team. We can’t let everyone know about what combination we are going to play and let the opponents know that this is going to happen,” said Shreyas.
“Definitely, he is a brilliant prodigy. And whenever he gets an opportunity to play, he will definitely do brilliantly,” he added.
Former India players such as Sunil Gavaskar, Mohammad Kaif and Aakash Chopra have already stated that Sooryavanshi must play the series opener against England. The ball is now firmly in Gambhir and Iyer’s court.