Vaibhav Sooryavanshi warmed the benches in Belfast as Team India lost the two-match T20I series to Ireland 2-0 on Sunday.
Published: June 29, 2026, 12:00 PM IST
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Vaibhav Sooryavanshi wasn’t picked for any of two T20I games vs Ireland last week. (Source: X)
India vs Ireland 2026 2nd T20: Team India slumped to a humiliating 2-0 series loss to minnows Ireland after their one-run loss in the second game at the Civil Service Cricket Club in Belfast on Sunday. The series defeat ended India’s run of 16 successive series wins in T20I cricket and was also the first-ever series defeat to the Irish for the reigning T20 World Cup champions.
While the series defeat was definitely a major disappointment, Indian cricket fans were also not pleased that 15-year-old prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi wasn’t given an opportunity to make his Team India debut against Ireland last week. Sooryavanshi could have become the youngest-ever Indian cricketer to make his debut breaking the record of Sachin Tendulkar, who had made his Test debut at the age of 16 years and 205 days in 1989.
Instead of Sooryavanshi, Shreyas Iyer’s Team India chose to hand debuts to the likes of Suryansh Shedge and Prince Yadav even as they slumped to a 2-0 series defeat. Team India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate spoke to the media after India’s one-run loss in the second T20I on Sunday and revealed that Sooryavanshi is ‘ready for international cricket’.
“He (Sooryavanshi) is absolutely ready to play international cricket, there is no doubt about that but also Sanju Samson is a guy who went a long way to win us the World Cup three months ago,” Ten Doeschate said at the post-match press conference in Belfast on Sunday.
“He has got a fairly good IPL, and it is important to give players confidence and message to the players, we want to give guys a long run in the team. We are all excited to see Vaibhav play but he has to go through the same process but certainly no question about how good he is,” the former Netherlands and Kolkata Knight Riders all-rounder said.
WATCH Team India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate speak about Vaibhav Sooryavanshi HERE…
NO PLACE FOR VAIBHAV YET! TEAM INDIA BACKS SANJU SAMSON
Q️: Coach, How far Vaibhav Suryavanshi from debut?
Ryan ten doeschate️: Vaibhav is absolutely ready for international cricket, but we won’t rush him. Sanju played a big role in India’s T20 World Cup win and had a… pic.twitter.com/4FrYEXD9O2
— Sam (@cricsam02) June 29, 2026
Sooryavanshi became the youngest-ever winner of the Orange Cap in IPL 2026 after piling up 776 runs in the season at an amazing strike-rate of 237.3. The Rajasthan Royals opener also smashed 72 sixes in the season – the highest-ever by any batter in the history of Indian Premier League.
Captain Shreyas Iyer and Team India’s next assignment will be against England in a five-match T20I series beginning at the Chester-le-Street in Durham on Wednesday. Fans will be hoping that after back-to-back failures of Indian batters – openers Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma were dismissed for first-ball ducks – Sooryavanshi will finally get the opportunity to play for Team India in the high-profile series against England.
Little bit of disbelief after series loss: Ryan ten Doeschate
Team India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate also revealed that there was a ‘little bit of disbelief’ in the squad after their stunning series loss to Ireland. Indians lost the first game by 34 runs on Friday and then failed to chase down 155 to win by one run.
“I think there is a little bit of disbelief, we have just won a World Cup. We have been outdone, outsmarted by a team which did their basics very well. Firstly credit to Ireland and secondly the learning for us (is) in terms of being able to adapt to different conditions and against different teams and that is the biggest takeaway from this series,” Ten Doeschate said on Sunday.
“I think it (conditions) was a big factor, I think that was essentially what was our undoing…we just didn’t address them well enough. The big thing was wind but absolutely there are no excuses. We have to find solutions to different challenges in a different manner. Ireland did their basics really well and we couldn’t combat that. We are probably too used to tempo style where you can hit sixes more freely. We have to be a lot smarter in these conditions,” he added.
