‘For the sake of world cricket’: Former England cricketer urges India to play Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in Ireland T20Is

Former England player Graeme Swann has backed teenage batsman Vaibhav Sooryavanshi to feature in India’s T20I series against Ireland, calling him the “box-office man of the moment” and saying his inclusion in the Indian team is good for world cricket.Sooryavanshi, who was named in the Indian squads for the upcoming T20I tour of Ireland and England on Saturday, became the youngest player ever to be picked in the Indian squad at the age of 15 years and 71 days. He surpassed the previous record held by Sachin Tendulkar, who made his Test debut at 16 years and 205 days against Pakistan in Karachi on 15 November 1989.In an interview with JioStar, Swann said that he wants to see Sooryavanshi play in the two-match T20I series against Ireland starting on June 26 in Belfast.“I’m glad he’s been picked because of world cricket. He’s the player of the moment. I think he should play against Ireland. I wasn’t quite sure how good he was going into this IPL,” Swann said.“I knew he had talent and he scored a big hundred in the Under-19 World Cup final. But I thought the world bowlers would find him. There would be too much pace and too much planning against him,” Swann added.Swann said Sooryavanshi handled every challenge during IPL 2026 with confidence.“The 97 he made in the (IPL) Eliminator, I’ve rarely seen him bat like that. When he was smashing Pat Cummins all over the country, I thought, ‘This kid is the real deal,'” Swann said.“I didn’t see the point of not involving him or bringing him into the senior team because you have the absolute best in the world on your hands for the next 20 years,” added Swann.Sooryavanshi earned his first call-up to India after finishing IPL 2026 as the tournament’s top scorer. While playing for Rajasthan Royals, he scored 776 runs at a strike rate of 237.30, including one century and five fifties.The Board of Control for Cricket in India on Saturday announced the Indian T20I squads for the tour of Ireland and England. Shreyas Iyer was named captain while Tilak Varma was named vice-captain.India’s World T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav has been left out of the squad. Fast bowler Prince Yadav also got the first call.