Sunil Gavaskar demands Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's Team India selection for T20I series against England

Fifteen-year-old batting prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's back-to-back stunning performances in the ongoing IPL 2026 has have sparked intense nationwide debate over how quickly he should be fast-tracked into the senior Indian cricket team.

Meanwhile, batting legend Sunil Gavaskar has given a timeline on Sooryavanshi's prospects of making it to the Indian team.

wouldn't be surprised if he will be selected in Team India for England T20Is: Sunil Gavaskar

Team India is scheduled to travel to England in July 2026 for a highly anticipated white-ball tour featuring five T20Is and three ODIs. The month-long overseas campaign will kick off with the T20I series opener on July 1, followed by the ODI leg scheduled for July 14, 16, and 19 in Birmingham, Cardiff, and Lord’s respectively. While the senior men’s selection committee prepares to announce the official squad next month, legendary former captain and opening batter Sunil Gavaskar has made a strong case for the inclusion of rising phenom Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.

ALSO READ: Big update on chances of Rahul Dravid replacing Stephen Fleming as CSK's next head coach in IPL 2027

Gavaskar firmly believes that despite being only 15 years old, Sooryavanshi is absolutely ready to make his debut for the senior national team in the shortest format. The icon expressed his strong desire to see the young prodigy named in India’s squad for this marquee series against the two-time T20 World Cup champions.

Elaborating on his stance during an interview with Sports Today, Gavaskar argued that age should not be treated as a barrier to international selection. He emphasised that the teenager has already proven his mettle by consistently dismantling experienced, world-class bowlers throughout the ongoing IPL 2026, demonstrating a level of skill and maturity that warrants an immediate call-up to the national side.

"He certainly has broken down the door. I wouldn't be surprised if he will be selected in the team which will go to England for the T20I series. And with this kind of performances, I am very certain that he will be in the Indian team. If you don't give him chance after this performance, when will you give him chance," Gavaskar told Sports Today.

ALSO READ: RCB star's teammate announces retirement amidst IPL 2026, once scored 728 runs in debut season

When asked about Sooryavanshi's chances of featuring in the ODI format as well, Gavaskar added:

"First give him the opportunity in the T20I format then see more of him in the 50-over format."

Sooryavanshi's mayhem in Eliminator knocks out SRH from IPL 2026

For now Sooryavanshi's sights must have been set on gunning down Gujarat Titans in the IPL 2026 Qualifier 2 to help his team storm into the final on May 31. Riding on his latest batting heroics, where he cracked a blistering 29-ball 97, he tumbled plethora of records.

His explosive knock during IPL 2026 Eliminator clash against SRH, which was studded with five fours and 12 massive sixes, allowed him to surpass West Indies legend Chris Gayle’s long-standing record for the most sixes hit in a single IPL edition and a T20 tournament. The teenager has now smashed 65 sixes in the ongoing season, comfortably outdoing Gayle’s previous benchmark of 59 sixes set during the 2012 edition. Additionally, by clearing the boundary 12 times against SRH, Sooryavanshi matched Gayle's record for the most instances of hitting 10 or more sixes in an IPL innings, reaching the milestone four times overall. Three of those instances have come in this tournament alone, making him the first batsman in IPL history to achieve the feat three times in a single season.

The young phenom also dismantled several iconic powerplay records during his blitz. He cleared the ropes eight times in the powerplay at Mullanpur to surpass Sri Lankan legend Sanath Jayasuriya's 2008 record of seven powerplay sixes. Furthermore, Sooryavanshi overtook David Warner's 2016 record of 467 powerplay runs for SRH, setting a new tournament high with 490 runs in the first six overs this season. This knock marked his fifth fifty-plus score during the powerplay in his IPL career, leaving him just one behind Warner’s all-time record of six.

To cap off his historic night, the youngster etched his name alongside tournament greats in playoff history. He joined the elite company of Suresh Raina and Adam Gilchrist by becoming one of the few batsmen to register a fifty-plus score entirely within the powerplay of an IPL knockout match. The whirlwind innings also marked Sooryavanshi's fifth career half-century scored in fewer than 20 balls, putting him hot on the heels of Abhishek Sharma, who currently leads that particular tally with six.