Good news for Indian fans: Earlier start times for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s likely debut series
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (PTI Photo) NEW DELHI: Indian cricket fans won’t have to stay up that long to watch the men’s team’s upcoming T20I series in England. In a move aimed at increasing television viewing in India, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has revised the kick-off times for the three floodlit T20Is during India’s white-ball tour of England next month.India will play five T20Is and three ODIs in England between July 1 and July 19. According to a report by ESPNcricinfo, the ECB has pushed back the start of the three evening T20Is by one hour following discussions with broadcasters. The matches were originally scheduled to start at 18:30 local time (23:00 IST) as announced last year. However, they will now start at 5:30 PM local time (10:00 PM IST), making them more viewer-friendly for the Indian audience.The adjustment means fans in India can expect matches to end around 2am instead of stretching past 3am.The decision once again underlines the commercial importance of India’s matches to English cricket. Tours to India continue to be among the ECB’s most valuable broadcast properties, with television audiences playing a major role in scheduling decisions.The change in timing comes days after the BCCI announced India’s squads for the two-match T20I series against Ireland and the five-match T20I series against England.The team will be led by Shreyas Iyer, who replaces Suryakumar Yadav as captain, with the biggest talking point being the inclusion of teenage batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in the senior Indian team for the first time.The 15-year-old earned his first call-up after a record-breaking IPL 2026 season.Sooryavanshi finished as the leading run scorer of IPL 2026, amassing 776 runs and winning the Orange Cap. He scored one century and five fifties with a remarkable strike rate of 237.30.His sensational campaign earned him five individual awards – Rookie of the Season, Most Valuable Player, Orange Cap, Best Strike Rate of the Season and Most Sixes in the Tournament.The young man is now on the verge of making history. If Sooryavanshi is selected during the series in Ireland or England, he will become the youngest Indian international cricketer, breaking the previous record held by Sachin Tendulkar.Tendulkar made his debut for India at the age of 16 years and 205 days during the tour of Pakistan in 1989. At 15, Sooryavanshi has the opportunity to break a record that has stood for almost four decades.
India squad for T20I series against Ireland:
Shreyas Iyer (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Ishan Kishan (WK), Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma (VC), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohd. Siraj, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
India squad for T20I series against England:
Shreyas Iyer (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Ishan Kishan (WK), Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma (VC), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohd. Siraj, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi