Shastri tips teenager for youngest-ever India debut

Former India coach Ravi Shastri has urged selectors to be bold and thrust teenage opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi into the international setup as soon as possible.

Fresh off his starring role in India’s triumph at the ICC Men’s Under-19 Cricket World Cup at the start of the year, Sooryavanshi is piling on the runs in the Indian Premier League with the Rajasthan Royals.

He scored a superb 36-ball ton against Sunrisers Hyderabad last month and has another two half-centuries to his name to sit near the top of the run-getters list this season.

The left-handed opener has amassed 440 runs from 11 innings at a staggering strike rate of 236.56. This includes a whooping 40 maximums – more than any other batter so far this season.

“The door would be three-fourths open,” Shastri told host Sanjana Ganesan on the latest episode of The ICC Review.

“I can tell you that, for sure, because if you want to encourage or get someone young and into the setup as quickly as possible, then it's the T20 format of the game and he is not short by any margin.

“This guy can walk into a lot of sides in world cricket at this current moment in time. Just when you look at the exuberance of youth and that youth shows on his face."

While the next edition of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup isn't until 2028, Shastri suggested an upcoming tour of Ireland in June might be the perfect time to include Sooryavanshi, which will make him the youngest-ever India debutant.

“A lot of people will ask, is he 15, is he 16, is he 14? I don't care. I just see the way he is batting at the moment and the way he's taking on all comers twice his age or maybe two and a half times his age. It doesn't matter to him," Shastri added.

“So I think he's very, very much in the reckoning. And when you have tours of Ireland and all this happening now, I would be looking into him straight away.”

Shastri’s prophecy could soon turn into reality as Sooryavanshi’s push towards a senior India debut gathered further momentum with a maiden India A call-up confirmed on Thursday, 14 May, just a day after the former India head coach tipped the teenager for international cricket.

He is set to travel to Sri Lanka in June for the tri-series also involving Afghanistan, and strong performances on the tour could push him closer towards the India cap in the near future.

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