New Delhi, June 6 (IANS) The village of Tajpur in Bihar’s Samastipur district turned into a festive mood on Saturday afternoon as teenaged left-handed batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi earned a maiden call-up to India’s squads for the T20I tours of Ireland and England, as well as the Asian Games in Japan.

As soon as Sooryavanshi’s name was announced in all three squads by BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia at the board’s headquarters in Mumbai, it sparked jubilant scenes, with neighbours, relatives and people in the village thronging to his home, distributing laddus and even bursting crackers.

With everyone gathering at Sooryavanshi’s residence to congratulate his family and soak in the joy of him earning a spot in the Indian team, his father Sanjeev Sooryavanshi has since been on cloud nine. “We were at home and were waiting for something good to happen. We were very happy when the announcement was made.

“Our entire family, people in the society and village came to our home to congratulate us. Everyone distributed sweets and laddus, while crackers were even burst. We are very, very happy. Vaibhav has worked very hard since childhood for this – his aim to play for the country. Today, he has got the reward of his hard work and will get the saubhagya (the good fortune) to play for his country. We are very, very happy for him,” Sanjeev told IANS in an exclusive conversation, even as visitors continued to arrive at his home.

Sooryavanshi, who smashed 776 runs at a strike rate of 237.30 for Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2026, including hitting 72 sixes. He will first feature for India A in the 50-over tri‑series in Sri Lanka from June 9 to 21 before joining the senior side. If he debuts in Ireland or England, he will become the first India player to play international cricket before turning 16.

The legendary Sachin Tendulkar made his Test debut for India in 1989 at 16 years and 205 days while his ODI debut came at 16 years and 238 days. As of now, Washington Sundar is India’s youngest T20I debutant at 18 years and 80 days. With the first half of 2026 seeing him garner praise from Tendulkar, Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill Sanjeev said he had sensed the breakthrough coming for Sooryavanshi.

“Yes, I strongly felt it – that he may get a call‑up to the senior team this time. It’s because the way he played in England, Australia in the U19 games, then in South Africa and the U19 World Cup win, it was just outstanding. Moreover, he did well in the Emerging Asia Cup in Qatar and this year’s IPL too.

“Keeping all of that in mind, I had a feeling that it would be all good for Vaibhav. The selectors of BCCI have shown confidence in Vaibhav and we are very happy and thank them for showing their faith in him,” added the elated father.

Amidst the joy of celebrating Vaibhav’s call-up to the India T20I set-up, Sanjeev recalled about the time the teenager first picked up a bat as a five-year-old kid. The spark he showed while batting was enough for cricket‑loving Sanjeev to throw himself into the grind, sacrifice and grit needed to shape Vaibhav into an international cricketer.

For years, his father Sanjeev accompanied him every other day from their home to coach Manish Ojha’s Gen Next Academy in Sampatchak area of Patna. The one‑way journey was of nearly two‑and‑a‑half hours, but Sanjay would do it for the sake of Vaibhav’s cricketing future, while his mother Aarti Singh would wake up at 3 am to ensure her son carried homemade food to the academy.

“Every parent in the world does a lot of hardwork for their child. I have also been doing a lot of hardwork since childhood for Vaibhav. He was five years old when I started for him to play cricket. He and I both worked very hard.

“When he was 8, 9, and 10 years old, I got him to play matches and felt that he had something different in him in comparison to others. From there, he began to play a lot and even used to play in the senior team too. Seeing that, I felt that he had it in him to play at a higher level

“I worked even harder on him, but I must say the real hard work has been done by the child. Parents in the world want their son to go to the top and I also had a wish to see Vaibhav there. Today, my son’s wish has been fulfilled and I am very happy,” added Sanjeev

The sacrifices bore fruit when, at just 12, Sooryavanshi became the youngest player to feature in Ranji Trophy and a year later, became the youngest player to get an IPL deal. Now with Vaibhav set to don the blue jersey, Sanjeev signed off by saying, “Bas aashirwad dijiye, bahut acha karega aagey. Bas aashirwad dijiye (Just keep giving your blessing, as the boy will do well in future. Just keep giving him blessings).”

–IANS

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