‘Vaibhav Sooryavanshi made us pick him’: Ajit Agarkar’s candid confession on India’s selection

Image Courtesy: Instagram/@vaibhav_sooryavanshi09 The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has officially unveiled the Indian men’s squad for Ireland, England and the 2026 Asian Games in Japan, with Shreyas Iyer named captain and teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi called up to the senior T20 team for the first time.The selection marks a significant shift in India’s white-ball setup as Iyer takes over the leadership role from Suryakumar Yadav. The move reflects the selectors’ long-term strategy to expand India’s leadership options ahead of the 2028 FIFA T20 World Cup.However, the 15-year-old batting prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi undoubtedly made the headlines. The Rajasthan Royals youngster has enjoyed a meteoric rise over the past year, establishing himself as one of the brightest talents in Indian cricket.Sooryavanshi played a key role in India’s triumphant campaign in the 2026 Men’s Under-19 Cricket World Cup, winning both Player of the Tournament and Player of the Final awards. He carried that form into IPL 2026 where he amassed a stunning 776 runs at a strike rate of 237.30, forcing his way into the national selection conversations.Chief selector Ajit Agarkar admitted that the teenager’s performances left the selectors with little choice but to include him in the squad.“Vaibhav’s performances almost forced us to pick him. I know he is young but two consecutive IPL seasons and what he has done at the Under-19 level speaks for itself. We all see the kind of talent he has,” Agarkar told a press conference.“There will be tougher challenges but he has shown great promise and temperament. We are all as hopeful as anyone. He has chosen himself because of his own performances,” added Ajit Agarkar.India Squad for Ireland and England T20Is: Shreyas Iyer (c), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma (vc), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep, Sophiryb, PrinceIndia Squad for Asian Games: Shreyas Iyer (C), Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun C, Ravi Bishnoi, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Jasprit Bumrah.