Vaibhav Sooryavanshi became the youngest player to represent India in international cricket after being selected in the playing XI for the second game of the five-match ENG vs IND T20I 2026 series in Manchester on Saturday.
At 15 years and 99 days, the left-handed opener broke Sachin Tendulkar's 37-year record to become India's youngest men's international cricketer.
Tendulkar was 16 years and 205 days old when he made his international debut in a Test against Pakistan in November 1989.
The teenager also became the youngest-ever to play a T20I game for India, breaking the previous record held by Washington Sundar, who was 18 years and 80 days old when he made his debut in the format against Sri Lanka back in 2017.
Youngest debutants for India men’s cricket team across formats
Youngest Indian debutant | Format | Age at debut | Opposition | Debut date |
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi | T20I | 15 years, 99 days | England | July 4, 2026 |
Sachin Tendulkar | Test | 16 years, 205 days | Pakistan | November 15, 1989 |
Sachin Tendulkar | ODI | 16 years, 238 days | Pakistan | December 18, 1989 |
Vaibhav is also the youngest Indian to play international cricket across genders. Shafali Verma, who made her T20I debut for the Indian women’s cricket team at the age of 15 years and 239 days against South Africa in 2019, held the record earlier.
The southpaw had earned his maiden senior India call-up last month after a sensational IPL 2026 campaign with the Rajasthan Royals.
He didn’t get a game against Ireland in Belfast and was outside the playing XI for the washed-out opening match against England earlier this week.
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The teenager finished as the leading run-scorer in IPL 2026 with 776 runs in 16 innings at a staggering strike rate of 237.30, becoming the youngest to claim the Orange Cap and MVP awards in IPL history.
His remarkable season also saw him become the fastest batter to reach 1000 IPL runs in terms of balls faced, needing only 440 deliveries.
He also smashed a record 72 sixes during the campaign and became the first player to score 500 powerplay runs in a single IPL season.
Before joining the senior squad, Sooryavanshi represented India A at the tri-series in Sri Lanka, where he smashed the fastest List A fifty, reaching there in 11 balls en route to a 29-ball 94 in the final against Sri Lanka A.
