Vaibhav Sooryavanshi didn't get a place in the playing XI against Ireland in the first T20I
India went in with the opening pair of Sanju Samson and Abhishek Kumar, followed by Ishan Kishan
This is the first match of Shreyas Iyer as India's new T20I captain
India take on Ireland in the first T20I of the two-match series at the Stormont Cricket Ground, Belfast, on Friday, June 26. While there is a stark difference between the skillsets of both these teams, the hype around this contest is off the charts, with soaring high ticket demands and fans traveling from European hotspots such as Paris to watch the match.
It's mainly because of the anticipation of the debut of the new wonder boy of cricket, 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. The left-handed batter has taken the cricket world by storm ever since his IPL debut in 2025.
The teenager impressed with his performances in age-group and First-Class cricket before setting the stage on fire in IPL 2026 to force his way into the Indian T20I setup.
His blistering 94-run knock off just 29 balls against Sri Lanka A in the tri-series final further fuelled excitement around his potential international debut against Ireland. However, the Shreyas Iyer-led Indian side decided against handing Vaibhav Sooryavanshi his maiden cap in the opening match of the series.
Instead, India stuck with their settled opening combination of Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson, with Ishan Kishan at No. 3 — the core that played a major role in India's T20 World Cup triumph a little over three months ago.
There was significant buzz surrounding Sooryavanshi's maiden call-up, with a large section of fans backing an immediate debut. However, rather than giving in to external noise, the Indian team chose to trust their settled combination.
