Batting prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was seen having a lengthy chat with India head coach Gautam Gambhir ahead of his potential debut with the senior team in the first T20I against Ireland in Belfast. In a viral video, Sooryavanshi was greeted by Gambhir as he was coming back after batting in the nets. The two shared a fist bump before having a chat, and the duo were also joined by batting coach Sitanshu Kotak. The viral video claimed that Gambhir observed Sooryavanshi’s net session closely, before giving him some valuable tips after the session.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi during his first practice session with senior Indian team and he had some discussion with coach Gautam Gambhir after session.
Ig India debut is loading for Vaibhav pic.twitter.com/ensYhEGrDf
— (@rushiii_12) June 25, 2026
There has been a suspense surrounding Sooryavanshi’s potential debut, following his breakthrough season with the bat in the IPL. The 15-year-old was the leading run-getter with 776 runs in 16 innings and hit a whopping 65 sixes.
Fitting Sooryavanshi into the playing eleven might require breaking up the highly successful opening pair of Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson, who was named Player of the Tournament in India’s recent T20 World Cup triumph.
Adding to it, Ishan Kishan also sparkled at number three, which means it’s easier said than done to hand a debut to young Sooryavanshi.
The series also marks a crucial leadership initiation for Shreyas Iyer, who returns to the India T20I setup for the first time since December 2023.
Taking over the reins from Suryakumar Yadav, Iyer will look to leverage his highly successful IPL captaincy experience and strong rapport with head coach Gautam Gambhir to anchor a hyper-aggressive middle order that includes himself, Kishan, vice-captain Tilak Varma.
India boasts a flawless 8-0 head-to-head record against Ireland in T20Is, with their last meeting occurring during the 2024 T20 World Cup.
As India returns to playing an international game in Stormont for the first time since 2007, they will look to continue their stellar run in T20Is this year, which stands at 12 wins out of 14 matches.
(With IANS Inputs)
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