India vs Ireland 2026 1st T20: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is set to make his record-breaking debut in first game of two-match series against Irish at the Civil Service Club ground in Belfast on Friday.
Updated: June 26, 2026, 9:55 AM IST
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Team India batter Vaibhav Sooryavanshi could make his international debut vs Ireland in 1st T20 on Friday. (Source: X)
India vs Ireland 2026 1st T20: The entire cricketing fraternity is waiting with bated breath for the impending debut of 15-year-old Indian prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi as Team India get ready to take on Ireland in the first match of two-game T20I series at the Civil Service Club ground in Belfast on Friday. If Sooryavanshi does get his maiden India cap, he will become the youngest-ever – male or female – to make his debut for India in any format of the game beating the likes of Shafali Verma and Sachin Tendulkar.
But Sooryavanshi entry into the T20 World Cup-winning squad is easier said that done. It will be highly unfair on Indian top-order – Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan – all three of whom scored brilliant fifties in the T20 World Cup 2026 final vs New Zealand a few months back.
“Vaibhav is very talented, there is no doubt. And the way he has batted in IPL and all the other games, there is no need to tell that he has got a lot of natural abilities. Because in IPL he has faced Jofra, a lot of quick bowlers, a lot of experienced bowlers. And it seems that nothing is bothering him. So he is obviously an extraordinary talent,” Team India assistant coach Sitanshu Kotak said about Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in the pre-match press conference in Belfast on Thursday.
“Today evening, captain and head coach will decide about the team. And if he plays great, if he doesn’t play also for me, that is great because he is part of Indian team. And I am sure that he will get his dues and his opportunities. So I don’t think that just to give him an opportunity, we should drop someone who has already been scoring runs,” Kotak added.
Sooryavanshi has stormed into India contention after becoming the youngest-ever to win the IPL Orange Cap in the 2026 season with 776 runs at an amazing strike-rate of 237.3. He is also coming into this series with a brilliant 94 off 29 balls for India ‘A’ team in the 50-over tri-series final vs Sri Lanka ‘A’ last week which included a world-record 11-ball fifty.
But to accommodate Sooryavanshi, Team India will have to drop world No. 1 T20I batter Abhishek Sharma from the batting line-up – at least for the opening game. Samson is likely to be the specialist wicket-keeper with Ishan Kishan batting at No. 3.
New T20I skipper Shreyas Iyer will be replacing outgoing captain Suryakumar Yadav in the line-up while Tilak Varma will retain his place as he has been name Iyer’s deputy for this series. Apart from Sooryavanshi, India could also hand a maiden cap to Delhi pacer Prince Yadav, who had claimed 16 wickets in IPL 2026 for Lucknow Super Giants.
Harshit Rana is also set to return to the playing 11 with Jasprit Bumrah rested for the series. Rana had missed the entire IPL 2026 due to a knee surgery.
Good vibes & many smiles
Candid clicks from #TeamIndia‘s pre-series photoshoot in Belfast #IREvIND pic.twitter.com/ZxO8hCdSIZ
— BCCI (@BCCI) June 26, 2026
India vs Ireland 2026 1st T20I match Predicted 11
India: Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma/ Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma, Washington Sundar, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Ravi Bishnoi/Prasidh Krishna/ Prince Yadav
Ireland: Tim Tector, Ross Adair, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker (c & wk), Ben Calitz, Gareth Delaney, George Dockrell, Matthew Humphreys, Matt Holard, Reuben Williams, Jai Moondra
