Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s explosive IPL season earns him India A call-up

Teenage batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has been named in the Tilak Varma-led India A squad to face Sri Lanka A and Afghanistan A in a tri-series, which will begin from 9 June.

India A will take on both Sri Lanka A and Afghanistan A twice in the round-robin stage, before the top two teams lock horns in the final on 21 June.

After the tri-series, India A will play two multi-day matches against Sri Lanka A. “The white-ball series will be played in Dambulla, while the multi-day matches will take place in Galle,” the BCCI said in a statement.

Vaibhav, 15, first made headlines during IPL 2025 when he made his debut with Rajasthan Royals (RR). He enjoyed an impressive run of form, scoring 252 runs from seven matches at a strike-rate of 206.55.

He slammed 101 runs from 38 deliveries against the Gujarat Titans (GT), and also scored a half-century.

Earlier this year, the Bihar youngster scored 439 runs from seven matches in the 2026 U-19 World Cup and 175 runs from 80 balls against England in the final to help India U-19 clinch their sixth World Cup title.

The upcoming series could pave the way for Vaibhav to possibly be handed a call-up to the senior Indian team. Several former cricketers have backed Vaibhav for fast-tracking to the senior Indian team. Former South Africa cricketer AB de Villiers, however, recently urged Vaibhav to play the longer formats as well.

“If he does start nibbling around with ODIs and, in particular, Test cricket, he will discover a whole different area of his cricket mentally and physically. He definitely has the talent to overcome all the obstacles that may come his way. But it will not be an easy ride, and it will be a rocky road. I hope he goes that route and tries to play Test cricket for his country," he said on the For the Love of Cricket podcast.

Apart from Vaibhav, the India A squad also comprises of other youngsters like Priyansh Arya, Anshul Kamboj and Suryansh Shedge, all of whom have impressed in the IPL so far. Prabhsimran Singh is one of the two designated wicketkeepers.

India A squad for tri-series: Tilak Varma (Captain), Priyansh Arya, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Riyan Parag (Vice-Captain), Ayush Badoni, Nishant Sindhu, Harsh Dubey, Suryansh Shedge, Prabhsimran Singh (WK), Kumar Kushagra (WK), Vipraj Nigam, Yash Thakur, Yudhvir Singh, Anshul Kamboj, Arshad Khan.