‘Dreamed of this moment’: Sooryavanshi dons India jersey
15-year-old batting sensation boards flight for Ireland and England T20s
It was only a matter of time.
India’s 15-year-old batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi donned his first senior India jersey on Tuesday and said he had long dreamed of the moment.
Sooryavanshi was named in India's T20 squad for the tours to Ireland and England, as well as the Asian Games, after sweeping the batting honours in this year's Indian Premier League (IPL).
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) released a video of the moment on Tuesday when the blue jersey was delivered to him, calling it "the moment the nation has been waiting for".
"Ever since I first held a bat and walked onto a cricket field to practise, I dreamed of this moment... I cannot explain this feeling in words," an emotional Sooryavanshi said in the BCCI video.
He was shown unpacking the shirt, with his name on the back above the number 03.
Sooryavanshi is in line to become India's youngest international player, surpassing Sachin Tendulkar, the batting great who made his Test debut aged 16 years and 205 days in 1989.
The spotlight has been on Sooryavanshi since his batting exploits in the IPL, where he amassed 776 runs for Rajasthan Royals to finish as the tournament's leading run scorer.
He struck one century and five half-centuries during the season to pick up the Orange Cap for the leading run-getter.
He also smashed an incredible 94 off 29 balls for India A in the Tri Nations A Series final win over Sri Lanka A, in the process scoring the fastest half-century in List A cricket off just 11 balls.
The Shreyas Iyer-led Indian team departed on Tuesday from Chennai International Airport for the white-ball series, starting June 26. The men in blue are scheduled to play two T20Is against Ireland, followed by five T20Is and three ODIs against England.
Prior to their departure, India were dealt a blow when all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy was ruled out due to injury. In his place, the national selectors have handed a maiden senior call-up to Mumbai all-rounder Suryansh Shedge, rewarding the 23-year-old for his impressive performances in domestic cricket and for India A.
