Vaibhav Suryavanshi picked in Indian team for England tour

Dubai: Fourteen years old, a century against Gujarat Titans, and a Rs11 million IPL contract — Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s rise has been anything but ordinary. Now, the Rajasthan Royals sensation is set to don the India jersey once again, this time for a high-stakes tour of England. Alongside him is fellow IPL breakout Ayush Mhatre, who went from injury replacement to captaincy candidate in just six games for Chennai Super Kings.

It comes as little surprise that the left-hander’s exploits this season have earned him a place in the India U19 team for the tour of England. Mhatre, 17, has also impressed after stepping in for the injured Ruturaj Gaikwad.

The Junior Cricket Committee has announced India’s U19 squad for the upcoming England tour, scheduled from June 24 to July 23. The itinerary includes a 50-over warm-up match, followed by a five-match Youth One-Day series and two multi-day games against England U19.

Both Suryavanshi and Mhatre have been rewarded for their impressive campaigns in IPL 2025 with Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings, respectively.

Mhatre will lead the squad on the England tour, with Mumbai’s Abhigyan Kundu appointed as vice-captain.

Suryavanshi, 14, became the youngest centurion in IPL history this season. Bought by Rajasthan Royals for ₹1.1 crore at the 2025 auction, the teenager has amassed 252 runs in seven matches — including a century and a half-century.

Mhatre, meanwhile, was roped in mid-season as an injury replacement for CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad. The 17-year-old made an instant impact in a depleted Chennai batting unit, scoring 206 runs in six games. His standout performance was a 94-run knock against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.

The duo were also part of the Indian side that finished runners-up at the U19 Asia Cup in the UAE last year.

Among other notable selections are Punjab batter Vihaan Malhotra and Kerala leg-spinner Mohammed Enaan, both of whom impressed during the 2024 youth series against Australia held in Chennai and Puducherry.

India U19 squad:

Ayush Mhatre (captain), Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Vihaan Malhotra, Maulyarajsinh Chavda, Rahul Kumar, Abhigyan Kundu (Vice-Captain & WK), Harvansh Singh (WK), R S Ambrish, Kanishk Chouhan, Khilan Patel, Henil Patel, Yudhajit Guha, Pranav Raghavendra, Mohammed Enaan, Aditya Rana, Anmoljeet Singh.

Standby Players: Naman Pushpak, D Deepesh, Vedant Trivedi, Vikalp Tiwari, Alankrith Rapole (WK).