IRE vs IND, 1st T20I: Why India delayed Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's debut in Ireland

India left 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi out of the first T20I against Ireland in Belfast. Shreyas Iyer said senior World Cup winners were backed, a call Sanjay Manjrekar hailed as merit-based.

In Short

• Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was not picked in India's XI in Belfast on Friday
• The 15-year-old batted for an hour in the nets on the eve of the game
• Shreyas Iyer took over as the captain of the Indian T20I side

There was plenty of anticipation. For more than a fortnight after the 15-year-old was picked in India's T20I squad, there had been growing expectation that June 26 would be the day Vaibhav Sooryavanshi made history. It was widely anticipated that he would become the youngest cricketer to receive an India cap in Belfast, breaking Sachin Tendulkar's 37-year-old record. Live Updates | Scorecard

However, the Indian team delayed Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's debut. Newly-appointed captain Shreyas Iyer confirmed that the teenager had not made the playing XI for the opening T20I of the series in Belfast.

When asked to explain the decision, Shreyas said the team management wanted to back the senior players who had been part of India's T20 World Cup-winning squad. Incidentally, this is India's first T20I since winning the World Cup in March.

"Unfortunately no. He is a gun player. But, we have experience in the team. And the seniors have done brilliantly in the past couple of series for India. So, we are backing the majority of them who have done absolutely marvelously. So, I think he will get his opportunity when the time comes. But, for now, we are going with three genuine seamers, one all-rounder and two spinners," Iyer said.

Backing the big call, former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar said he was pleased India resisted the temptation to rush the 15-year-old into the XI, stressing that it would have been unfair to drop either Sanju Samson or Abhishek Sharma.

"You can't drop Abhishek Sharma after he's scored a 50 off 20 balls in the World Cup final. Samson just went crazy during the World Cup. His last three scores were 93 not out, 89 and 89. So you can't drop those people just because we are excited about the young boys," he told Sony LIV.

"India are doing the right thing and that's the right message. They have dropped a key World Cup-winning captain, Suryakumar Yadav. So India are now focused on cricketing merit, which is how it should always be. I'm glad they haven't got too carried away with the excitement around this young kid. He can wait his turn, and he's got time on his hands."

INDIA PLAYING XI VS IRELAND IN 1st T20I

Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer (captain), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna.

- Ends