OLD TRAFFORD — Making his India debut was the easy part for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. How the teenage phenomenon handles the fame and scrutiny that follows will make or break his career.
At 15 years of age, it is remarkable he is even in India’s squad for this T20 series against England.
Yet having torn up the Indian Premier League over the past two years, including hitting a tournament-record 72 sixes in the latest edition, it was always a matter of when, not if, he would break Sachin Tendulkar’s record to become his country’s youngest international.
Having been left out for India’s shock 2-0 series defeat in Ireland and the washed-out opener against England in Durham last week, the youngster’s wait came to an end in Manchester on Saturday.
News that Sooryavanshi would replace World Cup-winning opener Sanju Samson was greeted with raucous applause by the Indian fans who made up the majority of the 16,047 inside Old Trafford.
