BCCI Chief selector Ajit Agarkar opened up on selecting Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in India’s T20I squad. On June 6, the BCCI announced India’s squads for the Ireland and England tours as well as the Asian Games 2026. The announcement introduced some changes in the T20I squad, including Shreyas Iyer being named as the new skipper, replacing Suryakumar Yadav at the helm. In addition to it, newest batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi also received his maiden call-up, becoming the youngest player to get selected at the age of 15 years and 70 days.

Speaking about his selection, Agarkar said that Sooryavanshi’s batting heroics forced the selectors to pick him for the forthcoming assignments. Agarkar was addressing the media, where he admitted that despite being so young, he has showcased the talent he possesses. "Vaibhav's performances almost forced us to pick him. I know he's young, but two IPL seasons in a row and what he has done at the Under-19 level speak for themselves. We can all see the kind of talent he possesses," Agarkar told the media.

"There will be tougher challenges but he has shown great promise and temperament. We're all as hopeful as everyone is. He has picked himself through his own performances," he added.

India’s squads for Ireland and England Tour as well as Asian Games 2026

The Men in Blue will travel to Ireland for two T20Is in Belfast kicking off on June 26, followed by five T20Is and three ODIs in England starting on July 1. Following this, they will compete in the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, starting from September 17 to October 3.

India squad for Ireland and England T20ls: Shreyas lyer (c), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma (vc), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi

India squad for Asian Games: Shreyas lyer (C), Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun C, Ravi Bishnoi, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Jasprit Bumrah