Bollywood actor and cricket fan Riteish Deshmukh has backed Vaibhav Sooryavanshi for an immediate India T20I debut after the national side suffered a 2-0 series defeat to Ireland in Belfast. The teenage sensation was part of the squad for the series but did not get a single game, even as India slipped to back-to-back losses under new captain Shreyas Iyer.
Ireland created history at the Civil Service Cricket Club, Stormont, winning the opening T20I by 34 runs on Friday, June 26, before edging the second match by one run on Sunday, June 28. After recovering from 51 for 4, Ireland posted 182 for 9 in the first game and held their nerve in the second to seal their maiden series win over India in international cricket.
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The result also ended India’s run of 16 straight bilateral T20I series wins. Iyer, meanwhile, began his captaincy stint with two defeats as the world champions failed to cross the line in either contest.
Riteish took to X and wrote: “Make Vaibhav Suryavanshi play already!!!! What are we waiting for????”
Make Vaibhav Suryavanshi play already!!!!
What are we waiting for ?????— Riteish Deshmukh (@Riteishd) June 28, 2026
The 15-year-old left-hander from Bihar earned his maiden senior India call-up after a sensational IPL 2026 season. He finished as the tournament’s leading run-scorer with 776 runs in 16 innings, striking at 237.30 and smashing a season-high 72 sixes.
Sooryavanshi had already announced himself on the big stage before that. He was named Player of the Tournament at the 2026 ICC Under-19 World Cup after hammering 175 off 80 balls in the final against England. He also scored 94 off 29 balls for India A in the Sri Lanka Tri-Nation Series final at Dambulla in June, reaching his fifty in just 11 deliveries.
A debut for India would make Sooryavanshi the youngest male cricketer to represent the country, breaking a record held by Sachin Tendulkar for more than three decades.
India now travel to England for a five-match T20I series starting July 1 at Chester-le-Street, followed by matches in Manchester, Nottingham, Bristol and Southampton. The tour will conclude with three ODIs from July 14.
