Sooryavanshi in line for maiden call-up

LONDON:

The 15-year-old batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is likely to be named in India's T20 squad while skipper Suryakumar Yadav could get the axe when selectors meet on Saturday, according to reports.

Sooryavanshi had a stellar IPL for Rajasthan Royals, finishing top of the batting charts with 776 runs, including a hundred and five half-centuries.

The left-handed opener is in line to be picked for two T20 matches in Ireland, followed by five games in England.

He would be the youngest debutant for India in history.

"The manner in which 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshismashed bowling attacks in his first full IPL season, and the way in which he responded to match situations, have convinced the selectors that he needs to be given the opportunity to play T20Is," Indian website ESPNcricinfo said.

Batting great Sachin Tendulkar played his first Test for India at 16 years and 205 days in 1989.

Sooryavanshi has also been included in a 30-member of probables for the Asian Games in September-October in Japan, Indian media says.

He was named most valuable player in the IPL, despite his team narrowly failing to reach the final.

He also scooped the Orange Cap for leading the batting charts, and named emerging player of the season, among other prizes.

The India T20 team is expecting a leadership change, with Suryakumar likely to be removed from the captaincy -- nearly three months after he led the country to World Cup glory at home.

Suryakumar has struggled with the bat, scoring just 242 runs in nine World Cup innings, with his unbeaten 84 against the United States the only significant knock.

Playing for Mumbai Indians in the IPL, the 35-year-old managed only 270 runs in 13 innings at an average of 20.76. His team ended ninth in the 10-team table.

Indian media have predicted Suryakumar will lose his place in the T20 squad with insiders calling it a "tough call".

Suryakumar is likely to be replaced by Shreyas Iyer, who last played a T20 for India in December 2023 but has been an IPL-winning captain.

He led Kolkata Knight Riders to the title in 2024 and then captained Punjab Kings to a runners-up finish in 2025 and into the play-offs this year.

Ishan Kishan and Tilak Varma are also in contention for the captaincy, with selectors set to name the squad at the weekend in Mumbai.

India coach Gautam Gambhir told struggling Rishabh Pant on Friday to stick to his natural attacking game after removing him as vice-captain for the one-off Test against Afghanistan.

KL Rahul will be Shubman Gill's deputy for the match starting on Saturday in New Chandigarh in place of Pant.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Pant has scored 3,476 runs at an average of 42.91 in 49 Test matches, since his debut in England in August 2018.

But the 28-year-old stepped down as captain of Lucknow Super Giants last week, the team having finished last in the IPL.

The usually flamboyant Test match star scored just 312 runs from 14 innings in this year's IPL, at a strike rate of 138.05.

"The responsibility is to play for India -- the rest, everything else, is a by-product," Gambhir told reporters on the eve of the Test.

"When you start playing for India, you don't think about being a vice-captain. You think about doing good for India."

Gambhir said that no player is told to "play a completely different game than his natural game".

"We will not tell him to 'curb your game', but in international cricket, it is very important to play the situation, to read the situation," Gambhir added.