Vaibhav Sooryavanshi becomes India’s youngest debutant at 15, beats Sachin
15! Read it again – 15! At the age of 15 years, 3 months and 7 days, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi made his international debut for the Indian cricket team. The teenager from Samastipur, Bihar, who captivated the cricketing world with his outrageous knocks in the Indian Premier League, got his debut cap in India’s second T20I against England.
Many would argue that the debut came three matches late after the generational talent warmed the bench in 2 T20Is against Ireland and then the first T20I against England played in Durham.
However, on Saturday, July 4, when the Indian team took on England in Manchester, the Gautam Gambhir-led team management decided to give the swashbuckling opener his first crack in the national team.
Vaibhav was promoted to the senior team from the India A side after the tri-series in June. Playing in Dambulla, Vaibhav stormed the Sri Lanka A attack in the final and tore up the record books. He smashed the fastest List A half-century – reaching the milestone in just 11 balls – and came within touching distance of the fastest List hundred.
Unfortunately for him, he was dismissed for 94 off just 29 balls.
By then, perhaps the Indian selectors had seen enough – and decided it was time to fast-track him into the national team.
YOUNGEST PLAYERS TO MAKE DEBUT FOR INDIA
At 15 years, 3 months and 7 days, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi entered the Indian cricket record books as the youngest player ever to make his international debut for the country. The Bihar batter overtook Shafali Verma who made his debut in 2019 at the age of 15 years and 239 days. In men’s cricket for India, he surpassed Sachin Tendulkar, whose debut at 16 had been India’s benchmark for teenage debuts for over three decades.
India have occasionally promoted teenage cricketers before, but rarely at this age and almost never with this level of public expectation. Vaibhav’s debut also puts him comfortably ahead of some of India’s other youngest internationals. Wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel made his debut at the age of 17 years and 152 days during India’s tour of England in 2002, while Harbhajan Singh represented India for the first time at the age of 17 years and 288 days.
More recent teenage debuts have come at significantly older ages. Yuvraj Singh made his ODI debut at 18 years and 124 days.
YOUNGEST MEN PLAYERS TO MAKE DEBUT FOR INDIA
Tests
Sachin Tendulkar: 16 years 205 days
Piyush Chawla: 17 years 75 days
Laxman Sivaramakrishnan: 17 years 118 days
Parthiv Patel: 17 years 152 days
ODI
Sachin Tendulkar: 16 years 238 days
Maninder Singh: 17 years 222 days
Harbhajan Singh: 17 years 288 days
Parthiv Patel: 17 years 301 days
T20 Is
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi: 15 years 99 days
Washington Sundar: 18 years 80 days
Rishabh Pant: 19 years 120 days
Ishant Sharma: 19 years 152 days
– The end
Issued by:
Kingshuk Kusari
Published on:
04 Jul 2026 18:25 IST