Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s wait for his India debut continued as the 15-year-old was once again left out of the playing XI for the first T20I against England. Although he was one of the top scorers in the 2026 IPL, where he scored 776 runs in 16 innings and was named the Most Valuable Player of the game, the young batsman has to wait a long time to get his chance at the international level. Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar they believe that waiting too long can increase a teenager’s stress every time they get a chance. However, he also feels that Sooryavanshi’s age can help him handle expectations better.“The (lateness) puts him under pressure every time he gets a chance. But when he’s 15, you don’t think too much about the pressure. He knows that if he gets a chance in the second or third game, he has to give it right away. That’s it. But they are happy to be with them. This Indian team is full of beautiful, successful players, and it’s great for him to learn from them,” Gavaskar said on Sony Sports Network.If Sooryavanshi plays later in the series, he will become the youngest player to feature in a men’s T20 international, surpassing Ireland’s Joshua Little. He will also become the youngest player to represent the Indian senior team, breaking the record that has stood since Sachin Tendulkar’s international debut at the age of 16.Meanwhile, the opening T20I between India and England was abandoned due to incessant rain, resulting in no results. The rain started towards the end of India’s innings and intensified thereafter, forcing the batsmen to abandon the match shortly before the finalists reached five overs.Before the delay, India posted a competitive 189 for 7 in the allotted 20 overs. Captain Shreyas Iyer led the way with a 47-ball 68, while opener Abhishek Sharma contributed 59. Shivam Dube made a late breakthrough with an unbeaten 42 in just 21 overs.England pacer Saqib Mahmood was the pick of the bowlers, returning figures of 3 for 33. The second of the five-match T20I will be played in Manchester on July 4.
