Vaibhav Sooryavanshi will be required to use a dressing room separate from his Indian teammates during the upcoming five-match T20I series in England,
in accordance with ICC and ECB safeguarding regulations for players under the age of 16.
The 15-year-old will still be permitted to access the Indian dressing room during matches and attend team meetings and discussions. However, he must use a designated separate changing area at each of the five venues while getting changed before and after games. It remains unclear whether the same regulations will apply during India's two T20Is in Ireland, which precede the England series.
"This is an ICC event, with their safeguarding procedures active as they have jurisdiction. A safeguarding concern occurring during the event may be managed by the ICC. In addition to this, the ECB Safe Hands policy applies at all times. The Cricket Regulator is in contact with the Team Liaison Officer (TLO) for the Indian team to discuss requirements and expectations for the player while he is in the UK,” the ECB was quoted as saying by Cricinfo.
"Each County Safeguarding Officer for the relevant cricket venue is also working closely with the Team Liaison Officer to ensure venue protocols and arrangements are understood and adhered to. This is conducted via safeguarding risk assessments. It is our understanding that the player's parents will be travelling with him at all times. They are staying in the same hotel, which is outside of usual protocol, but agreed on this occasion due to his age. This additional measure provides us with further confidence that he has family members that can provide the additional level of support and care,” it added.
Earlier, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia confirmed that Sooryavanshi would be accompanied by his parents on the tour, with the board covering their travel and accommodation expenses.
Despite his young age, Sooryavanshi is already familiar with senior dressing-room environments, having represented his state teams in domestic cricket, featured for Rajasthan Royals in the IPL, and been part of the India A squad during the recent tri-series in Sri Lanka.
Should he make his T20I debut in either Ireland or England, Sooryavanshi would become the youngest player to represent India's men's team, surpassing Sachin Tendulkar's long-standing record of 16 years and 205 days.
