Former South Africa captain AB de Villiers believes India missed the ideal opportunity to hand teenage batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi his international debut during the recent two-match T20I series against Ireland, which ended in a surprising 0-2 defeat for the visitors.
The 15-year-old earned his place in India’s T20I squad after a remarkable IPL 2026 season. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi scored 776 runs, finished with the tournament’s highest strike rate and smashed a record number of sixes. Despite those achievements, he has not yet played an international match. He remained on the bench throughout the Ireland series and was also left out of the rain-affected opening T20I against England.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, AB de Villiers said the Ireland series would have been the perfect stage to introduce Vaibhav Sooryavanshi to international cricket. He felt the youngster had already shown enough ability and deserved a chance to experience cricket at the highest level.
India’s team management, however, has maintained that Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has not yet done enough to break into the settled top three of Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan. Assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate recently backed that view, saying the teenager should remain patient and bide his time.
AB de Villiers disagreed with that approach. He argued that Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s outstanding IPL performances had earned him the right to be tested in international cricket. In his view, a series against Ireland would have been the ideal platform to give the young opener valuable experience before bigger challenges.
India now face a selection decision ahead of the second T20I against England on Saturday. If Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is to make his debut, one of Sanju Samson or Ishan Kishan may have to make way. Both the batters have struggled for runs in the last three matches, increasing speculation that the teenage prodigy could finally get his long-awaited opportunity.
