‘I can’t believe it’: Former England captain impressed with Vaibhav Sooryavanshi

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (ANI Photo) Former England captain Michael Vaughan has expressed his surprise after India left out teenage batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi from the playing eleven for the opening T20I against Ireland, despite the youngster’s impressive rise in recent months.Sooryavanshi, who recently earned his first call-up to India, was widely tipped to make his international debut in Belfast. However, India opted to retain the experienced opening combination of Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma, meaning the 15-year-old had to bide his time.Soon after India’s playing XI was announced and before the match started, Vaughan questioned the decision on social media.“Can’t believe India didn’t pick Vaibhav Sooryavanshi… best T20 player in the world right now,” Vaughan tweeted.Indian captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss and elected to field first, with Harshit Rana leading an impressive bowling effort. The fast bowler, who returned from a four-month injury lay-off, took 3/24 as India reduced Ireland to 36/3 in the Powerplay.Despite early setbacks, Ireland bounced back thanks to captain Lorcan Tucker, who hit 50 off 36 balls. Gareth Delany then hit 49 while George Dockrell added a quickfire 19 as Ireland finished on a competitive 182/9. Prasidh Krishna’s 27 runs in the death overs proved crucial in lifting the hosts to a challenging total.The Indian chase never picked up steam. Abhishek Sharma produced a blazing half-century off 20 balls, but Ireland’s disciplined attack kept striking at regular intervals. Debutant Jai Moondra dismissed Sanju Samson early while Matt Hollard removed Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer to put India on the back foot.With Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube and the lower order unable to build meaningful partnerships, India were bowled out for 148 as Ireland sealed a historic victory by 34 runs, their first ever victory over India in any format.While the result sparked plenty of discussion about India’s batting approach, Vaughan’s pre-match remarks about Sooryavanshi’s omission also attracted significant attention as the teenager continued to wait for his international debut.