After much anticipation and a delay that seemed longer than it was, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi finally made his India debut on Saturday, becoming the youngest player to represent the country in international cricket when he took the field in the second T20I against England at Old Trafford in Manchester.The 15-year-old was handed his first India cap by Tilak Varma before the toss and was all smiles as he prepared for his first international appearance.With his debut, Sooryavanshi broke the long-standing record held by the great Sachin Tendulkar, who made his debut for India against Pakistan in 1989 at the age of 16 years and 205 days.India captain Shreyas Iyer confirmed the youngster’s inclusion in the draw, with Sooryavanshi replacing Sanju Samson in the playing XI.“We will bat first again. We have one change. Vaibhav comes in for Sanju,” India captain Shreyas Iyer said at the toss.Iyer said Sooryavanshi deserved his chance and praised the teenager’s approach.“I feel he totally deserves to be in the team. He is someone who doesn’t take pressure at all. He has a steadfast nature. He is very well aware of what is going to happen in these upcoming games. The way he is scoring nets and outplaying the bowlers, it shows what kind of player he is,” Iyer added.Sooryavanshi broke into the national team after appearing in IPL 2026. Playing for Rajasthan Royals, he finished as the tournament’s top scorer with 776 runs at a strike rate of 230. He also won the Most Valuable Player and Rising Player awards. Teams:India (Playing XI): Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan(f), Shreyas Iyer(c), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Harshit Rana, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Varun ChakaravarthyEngland (playing XI): Philip Salt, Jos Buttler(f), Harry Brook(c), Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Liam Dawson, Adil Rashid, Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue
