Mumbai: 15-year-old left-arm opener Vaibhav Suriyavanshi on Saturday received his first India call-up as he was named in their squad for the upcoming T20I series against Ireland and England in June and July this year.
During last year’s Indian Premier League (IPL), he scored a 35-ball century for inaugural champions Rajasthan Royals, becoming the youngest player to be selected for the Indian men’s cricket team since Sachin Tendulkar in the late 1980s.
Suriyavanshi has so far played 34 T20Is and has amassed 1477 runs at an average of 44.75 and a staggering strike rate of 220.44 with the help of four centuries and six fifties.
He also finished as the IPL’s leading run-scorer this year as he amassed 776 runs in 16 innings at an average of 48.50 and a whopping strike rate of 237.30. The 15-year-old scored a century and five fifties during the tournament, further strengthening his case for India selection.
India chief selector Ajit Agarkar, while announcing his squad for the upcoming assignments against Ireland and England, insisted that Suriyavanshi had ‘picked himself’, admitting that the selection committee had no choice but to give him a national call-up.
“I think he’s really picked himself up. With his performance, he forced us to pick him up because of how well he played. For a young kid… I don’t need to talk about how well he’s playing. It’s not just this season. He obviously started (his IPL career) last season,” Agarkar said.
“And to support a young kid in such a competitive and high-pressure environment, how explosive and game-changing he can be. Like everyone who has watched T20 cricket in India, we have high hopes for him,” he added.
However, apart from the first call-up of Vaibhav Suryavanshi, India appointed Shreyas Iyer as its T20I captain, Suryakumar Yadav has been completely dropped from the squad due to his individual performance in the format.
Also, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravi Bishnoi and Prince Yadav were included in the squad, while Kuldeep Yadav and Ringu Singh were dropped from the team that won the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup title earlier this year. On the other hand, Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah were rested.
Before traveling to England for the five-match series from July 1 to 11, India will tour Ireland for two T20Is scheduled to be played in Belfast on June 26 and 28 respectively.
India squad for T20 series against Ireland and England
Shreyas Iyer (catch), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Shivam Dubey, Thilak Verma (VC), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Akshar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakraborty, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammad Siraj, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav and Vaibhav.
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