Key facts
- Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, 15, is now India's youngest-ever international cricketer
- He surpasses Sachin Tendulkar's long-standing record for youngest India debutant
- Sooryavanshi scored 14 runs on debut against England
- England won the T20 match, with Jacob Bethell hitting a match-winning knock
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi became the youngest cricketer in history to play international cricket for India on Thursday, breaking a record previously held by Sachin Tendulkar when he pulled on the senior blue jersey for a T20 fixture against England at just 15 years of age.
The Rajasthan-born teenager, who had already made waves in domestic and age-group cricket, walked out to bat in front of a packed crowd and delivered a fearless cameo, making 14 runs before being dismissed. Though brief, the innings was widely praised for its intent and composure — extraordinary for a 15-year-old on the grandest stage. His arrival at the crease drew a roar from the stands and dominated coverage across global cricket media.
Sooryavanshi's record-breaking debut, however, could not prevent an England victory. Jacob Bethell blasted a match-winning knock to hand England a T20 series win over India in the second match. The loss will sting for the Indian camp, but the spotlight firmly remained on the teenager whose name will now be etched in the history books alongside the greats he grew up watching.
The achievement carries enormous symbolic weight: Tendulkar's record of being India's youngest international debutant had stood for decades, regarded as one of cricket's untouchable milestones. That it has now fallen to another prodigy from India signals the remarkable depth of batting talent flowing through the country's cricket pipeline.
With this debut behind him, all eyes will be on how the BCCI and the Indian team management nurture Sooryavanshi going forward — balancing the extraordinary promise of a 15-year-old with the pressures that inevitably come with being cricket's next great hope.