By Sahil Kohli

Noida (Uttar Pradesh) [India], July 5 (ANI): Former Indian cricketer Maninder Singh said that 15-year-old prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who could make just 14 runs on his historic international cricket debut against England in the second T20I, should have had made his debut during the Ireland series, saying that there was hint of nervousness in youngster's performance on his first-ever international match at senior level.

Sooryavanshi made history during the second T20I against England at Manchester, becoming India's youngest international cricketer ever at the age of 15 years and 99 days, outdoing the legendary Sachin Tendulkar, who had made his debut in 1989 at the age of 16 years and 238 days. However, his 10-ball stay could only yield 14 runs and two sixes.

Speaking to ANI in an interview, while Maninder backed the 'brave' Sooryavanshi to prosper in future, he said that making his international debut in Ireland and having a failure or two there would have helped him much better while facing a much more experienced, dominating English bowling attack.

He also acknowledged that it is natural to have nerves, as even the biggest of the cricketers have experienced it and hopes that Vaibhav will do well in white-ball cricket, which he called 'the game of the brave'.

'Look, I am very happy for Vaibhav Suryavanshi. I feel he should have been played in Ireland itself because of the rhythm he was in, the form he was in. If these failures had happened in the Ireland series, by the time he came here, he might have understood and that nervousness would have gone. Because of the way he played his shot, that was not Vaibhav Suryavanshi's shot. That was a shot of nervousness. There will be nerves; even the big players get nervous, and he is just a 15-year-old kid. He is playing with men; he is competing with men. He has hit sixes on the first ball against big names. If we talk about (Jasprit) Bumrah, (Pat) Cummins was hiding when bowling against him in the IPL, and (Josh) Hazlewood did not understand where to bowl to him,' he said.

Maninder urged the 'true cricket lovers' to have some patience with Sooryavanshi, saying that batting on such pitches in overseas conditions is a 'learning opportunity' for the teen prodigy.

'All Indian cricket lovers need to have this patience because he is a talented cricketer. He is an impact player. Whenever he plays, he will create such an impact that he'll win the match single-handedly. So I am not too worried. Because he is a brave player and white-ball cricket today is a game of the brave, Vaibhav Suryavanshi is one of them. So my prayers will be with him for the coming times, but I have full hope from him that he will live up to our expectations,' he signed off.

The 15-year-old cricketer was named in India's T20I squads for the tours of Ireland and England, as well as the Asian Games. He became the youngest-ever player to be picked for the Indian national side, breaking a 36-year-old record held by legendary Sachin Tendulkar.

Notably, Sooryavanshi earned his maiden national call-up following a sensational IPL 2026 campaign with Rajasthan Royals, where he amassed 776 runs at a staggering strike rate of 237.30, including a century and five fifties. His explosive season saw him finish as the tournament's leading run-scorer while smashing a record 72 sixes.

The youngster also swept multiple post-season IPL honours, including the Orange Cap, Most Valuable Player, Emerging Player, Super Striker and Super Sixes awards.

So far in his IPL career, Sooryavanshi has scored 1,028 runs in 23 matches and innings at an average of 44.69 and a strike rate of 228.95, with two centuries and six fifties and a best score of 103. He has smashed 96 sixes.

In the recent tri-nation in Sri Lanka, featuring SL A and Afghanistan A, Sooryavanshi made 211 runs in five innings at an average of 42.20, with a strike rate of almost 201, with the best score of 94, his solitary fifty coming in the final. He also smacked the fastest List A cricket fifty in 11 balls against Sri Lanka A.

He is India's top run-getter in youth ODIs, with 1,412 runs in 25 matches and innings at an average of 56.48, with a strike rate of 165.72, four centuries and seven fifties and a best score of 175. His first U19 WC appearance this year saw him win the title and top score with 439 runs in seven matches and innings at an average of 62.71 and a strike rate of 169.49, with a century and three fifties, with a best score of 175. He also smashed a whopping 30 sixes, the highest by a batter in the tournament's history. (ANI)