Fifteen-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi will wear India A colours for the first time next month, completing a swift climb that has already taken in a headline-grabbing IPL debut and a record-breaking Under-19 World Cup.
“Vaibhav’s numbers at age-group level have been impossible to ignore,” the junior selection panel noted in Tuesday’s release. “The tri-series is the right environment to see how he adapts to senior cricket.”
The left-hander’s case was hard to resist. He topped India’s run charts at the Under-19 World Cup earlier this year and slammed 175 from just 80 deliveries in the final, an innings that effectively settled the contest. A few weeks earlier he had become Rajasthan Royals’ youngest IPL half-centurion, prompting Tilak Varma to call him “fearless, but also surprisingly organised for someone still at school.”
Tilak now becomes his captain. The Hyderabad batter leads a 15-man squad that features three players with full India caps – Tilak himself, vice-captain Riyan Parag and seamer Anshul Kamboj. Parag, reflecting on the promotion for his junior Royals team-mate, said, “He’s not overawed by the badge. That’s the most exciting part.”
Prabhsimran Singh and Priyansh Arya are expected to open, while Jharkhand’s Kumar Kushagra offers another wicketkeeping option in the middle order. Left-arm spinner Nishant Sindhu, leg-spinner Harsh Dubey and seam-bowling all-rounder Suryansh Shedge make up a balanced group of utility players.
With the red ball, Jammu & Kashmir quick Yudhvir Singh has been rewarded for 21 wickets in their Ranji Trophy-winning campaign. “Yudhvir gives us fresh pace and bounce,” bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule observed. “Conditions in Colombo can be slow, so those extra yards are handy.”
Schedule and context
India A open the one-day tri-series against Sri Lanka A on 9 June, with Afghanistan A completing the line-up. Six round-robin fixtures lead to the final on 21 June. The same tour then shifts to two unofficial Tests; a separate squad will be named for those matches.
Selection in perspective
India’s senior side begins its next ICC cycle in late July, so the selectors have deliberately mixed established fringe players with younger prospects. The theory, according to chairman of selectors Abhishek Nayar, is “to widen the pool without compromising results”.
For Sooryavanshi, the immediate task is simpler: transfer youth-level dominance into the slightly tougher world of ‘A’ cricket. “I’m just keen to keep batting the way I know,” he said during a brief chat with broadcasters. “If that helps the team lift another trophy, brilliant.”
India A squad
Tilak Varma (capt), Priyansh Arya, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Riyan Parag (vice-capt), Ayush Badoni, Nishant Sindhu, Harsh Dubey, Suryansh Shedge, Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Kumar Kushagra (wk), Vipraj Nigam, Yash Thakur, Yudhvir Singh, Anshul Kamboj, Arshad Khan.
The red-ball party will be confirmed once the limited-overs leg concludes.
