3 min readJul 5, 2026 10:17 PM IST
First published on: Jul 5, 2026 at 10:17 PM IST
Former India player Sanjay Manjrekar said that while it was great to see Vaibhav Sooryavanshi finally making his debut in the Indian senior team vs England on Saturday, it shouldn’t have come at the expense of Sanju Samson. In case the Kerala batter was not injured, he could have easily slotted in at No. 3, said Manjrekar.
“Great to see Vaibhav in India colours. But what about Samson! Dropped?? Are you kidding me! No, I guess, injured. Let’s hope it’s injury. Or it’s the most bizarre selection. Could have easily batted at 3 if you wanted to get Vaibhav in,” Manjrekar posted on X.
On Saturday, Sooryavanshi was given his highly anticipated debut cap against England in the second T0I match at old Trafford. Sooryavanshi became India’s youngest debutant in international cricket surpassing the legendary Sachin Tendulkar who held the record for nearly 37 years. He has also broken the record for being the youngest Indian in international cricket overall, previously held by Shafali Verma who was a few days older than Sooryavanshi is when she made her debut in September 2019.
Tendulkar had famously made his debut aged 16 years 205 days old in a Test match against Pakistan in Karachi in November 1989. Shafali was 15 years and 239 days old when she made her debut in a T20I against South Africa in Surat. Sooryavanshi is 15 years and 99 days old.
“You’ve seen him in the last couple of months, the way he’s been smashing the ball, taking on the best of the bowlers, shows immense confidence that he possesses,” said Iyer at the toss, which India won and chose to bat first. The five-match series remains tied at 0-0 with the first match having been washed out on Wednesday.
Sooryavanshi scored 14 runs off 10 deliveries in an innings which had two sixes. The 15-year-old batter started in his usual aggressive tone, slamming his first six in the first ball of the 2nd over, bowled by Rajasthan Royals teammate Jofra Archer.
His second came at the expense of another debutant Josh Tongue who was taken for a six off the first ball of the third over as well. The teenager finally was bamboozled by Will Jacks in the 5th over after he tried to come down the tracks and attempt a cut. He missed the stroke and was stumped by Jos Buttler for 14.
Sanju Samson was replaced by Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in the second T20I vs England. (CREIMAS) 
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