Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s coach, Manish Ojha, has dropped the biggest hint yet for the 15-year-old’s potential debut against England in the second T20I at Old Trafford, Manchester, on Saturday (July 4).
The Indian team management has maintained that Sooryavanshi needs to wait for the ‘right opportunity’ because he couldn’t usurp Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma or Ishan Kishan’s established position in the top three on the back of his record-breaking season in IPL 2026. In the latest remarks, bowling coach Morne Morkel said that the team was being ‘fair’ in keeping faith with the top three.
The hopes were further dashed when Sooryavanshi spent little time in the nets, which is unusual for anyone supposed to start a match. Still, rumors have been circulating
all day about Sooryavanshi playing. An Instagram story from the teenager’s account about a ‘new chapter’ went viral in the morning, and now Ojha has also wished him luck for the second T20I on social media through his academy’s account.
See the post here:
It would be a historical moment in Indian cricket, making Sooryavanshi the youngest international for the country.
What England feels about Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
On Friday, England all-rounder Sam Curran hailed Sooryavanshi as one of cricket’s most exciting young talents, calling his rapid rise to the India squad ‘an incredible story’ after his record-breaking IPL 2026 campaign.
“I watched a lot of the IPL for a month, and I was just watching this guy, he looks so easy. It’s truly incredible and it’s rightly so, getting the attention he deserves,” Curran said.
While backing England to challenge the teenager in home conditions, he admitted, “There’s no doubt that he’s pretty special for what he’s doing.”
Curran also felt the biggest test would be coping with the attention that comes with playing for India.
“I’m sure he’s going to have ups and downs like anybody else, but as a cricket player, you’ve got to enjoy what he’s doing because it is pretty cool. At 15 years old, I think I was just knocking in the Surrey indoor school.”
