Sawt Falasteen - Sooryavanshi, 15, in line for maiden India call-up: report

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 Sooryavanshi smashed 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.

G.AbuHamad--SF-PST