Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, the 15-year-old batting sensation who set the Indian Premier League (IPL) alight, has received his first official India national team jersey. He said he had long dreamed of this moment.
Sooryavanshi was called up to India's T20 squad for tours of Ireland, England and the Asian Games after winning the season's leading run-scorer title in this year's IPL. He could make his India debut in the first T20 against Ireland in Belfast on Friday.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) released a video of the moment the blue jersey was handed to Sooryavanshi on Tuesday, calling it "the moment the whole nation was waiting for." In the BCCI video, Sooryavanshi said: "Ever since I first picked up a bat and stepped onto the training ground, I have dreamed of this moment... I cannot express this feeling in words."
He was seen opening the jersey himself, which bore his name on the back and the number 03 above it. Sooryavanshi could become India's youngest international player, surpassing legend Sachin Tendulkar, who made his Test debut at 16 years and 205 days in 1989.
The spotlight has been on Sooryavanshi since his impressive run-scoring feats in the IPL, where he amassed 776 runs for Rajasthan Royals, topping the tournament's scoring charts. He scored one century and five half-centuries during the season to claim the Orange Cap for the leading run-scorer.
