Former England captain Michael Vaughan He expressed his surprise after India left young batsman Vaibhav Sooryavanshi out of the playing XI for the opening T20I against Ireland despite the youngster’s remarkable rise in recent months.Sooryavanshi, who was recently invited to India, was tipped to make his international debut in Belfast. However, India chose to keep the experts open for inclusion Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharmameaning the 15-year-old had to wait for his chance.Shortly after the announcement of India’s playing XI and before the start of the match, Vaughan questioned the idea on television.“I can’t believe that India didn’t choose Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.. the best T20 player in the world right now,” Vaughan said.Indian captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss and elected to field first, with Harshit Rana leading an impressive batting line-up. The fast bowler, returning from a four-month injury layoff, took 3/24 as India reduced Ireland to 36/3 in the Powerplay.Despite early difficulties, Ireland recovered through captain Lorcan Tucker, who hit 50 off 36 balls. Gareth Delany then blasted 49, while George Dockrell added 19 as Ireland finished on 182/9. A 27th-minute run from Prasidh Krishna at the death was crucial in lifting the hosts from danger.India’s chase did not go well. Abhishek Sharma made a blistering 20-ball half-century, but Ireland’s organized attacks continued to be frequent. Opener Jai Moondra removed Sanju Samson early, while Matt Hollard removed both Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer to put India on the back foot.With Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube and the lower order unable to form a good partnership, India were bowled out for 148 as Ireland sealed a historic victory by 34 seconds, their first win over India by any means.While the result sparked a lot of discussion in the Indian batting scene, Vaughan’s pre-match remarks against Sooryavanshi attracted a lot of attention as the youngster continued to wait for his international debut.
