Table of Contents
After his explosive IPL 2026 season, many people have been left in awe of the Rajasthan Royals' 15-year-old boy wonder, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. Since his impressive IPL debut in 2025, many experts have been calling for him to be included in the Indian National Team's squads despite his young age.
On Tuesday, the senior men's selection committee picked India's squads for the one-off Test and the three-match ODI series against Afghanistan.
Major news from both Test and ODI squads
In these squads, the Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel dropped a few bombshells. Some players were sacked while others received maiden call-ups. Rishabh Pant was sacked as vice-captain of the Test team and dropped from the ODI team altogether. KL Rahul and Ishan Kishan have respectively replaced him in those roles.
Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja were rested for both series, while Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya were included in the ODIs, subject to clearing fitness Tests.
Axar Patel, too, was dropped from the Test side. Pacer Prince Yadav was called up to the ODI squad, while left-arm spinner Manav Suthar was included in the Test team. Pacer Gurnoor Brar and left-arm spinner Harsh Dubey were included in both squads.
Ajit Agarkar addresses Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's exclusion
Contrary to expectations, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi did not find a place in either squad. Speaking during the press meeting after the squad announcements, he explained why Sooryavanshi was not selected.
"Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has done well, but let's not forget Yashasvi Jaiswal. As impressive as he [Sooryavanshi] is, Jaiswal has done well. Vaibhav has done well to get to the A team, hope he does well there," Agarkar said.
Also Read: India Test squad vs Afghanistan: Full breakdown of shocking exclusions and surprise inclusions
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi selected for India A
While he did not make the main squad, Sooryavanshi was still deemed good enough to be picked for India A.
He was named in the India A squad that will play a tri-series against Sri Lanka A and Afghanistan A in Sri Lanka alongside the main team's matches. That series will start on June 9 and end on June 21.
The tri-series squad will be led by Tilak Varma, with Riyan Parag being named his deputy.
India A squad for the 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.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in IPL 2026
Sooryavanshi had continued his excellent form from IPL 2025 into IPL 2026. In fact, it could be argued that he has gone above and beyond in that regard.
In 12 matches so far, he has made 486 runs with 2 fifties and a hundred. His hundred is still the fastest century this season in terms of balls faced.
His runs have come at an average of 40.50 and an amazing strike rate of 238.74. He has also hit 43 sixes, which is the most by any player this year.
Both the Rajasthan Royals and Sooryavanshi will be in action on Tuesday against the Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2026.
