Former captain Michael Vaughan has urged England to target Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s fielding during the upcoming T20 series against India. Vaughan said England should bat first if they win the toss, forcing the 15-year-old to spend the entire innings in the field before opening the batting and testing his stamina.
The five-match T20 series between India and England will start from July 1 in Durham. India is currently in Ireland for a two-match T20 series. Shreyas Iyer’s side suffered a 34-run defeat in the opening T20I at the Civil Service Cricket Club in Belfast. They will play the second and final match at the same venue on Sunday.
If I were England, I would ask India to field first – Michael Vaughan
Recently, during a discussion on Ajinkya Rahane’s YouTube channel, Michael Vaughan shared his strategy for bowling to Vaibhav Suryavanshi. He pointed out that the 15-year-old often played as an impact player for Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2026, allowing him to avoid fielding up to 20 overs before batting.
“One thing they will have to deal with is their fielding. There is no impact sub there where he can sit on the bench. If I were England, I would ask India to field first because by the time Suryavanshi comes to bat, he will be tired,” Vaughan said.
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A 15-year-old kid has sent a message to the rest of the world – Michael Vaughan praises Vaibhav Suryavanshi
Michael Vaughan praised the young batsman for changing the approach of teams in T20 cricket. The former England captain said the 15-year-old has raised the standards of batting and inspired teams to aim for big scores.
“There’s only one name that’s being talked about here, and that’s the 15-year-old kid. I think T20 cricket, especially because of Vaibhav Suryavanshi, has taken the game to scores as high as 230. I think it’s the norm now; teams are looking to score over 230. The openers are getting tougher than ever. It’s almost as if the 15-year-old has sent a message to the rest of the world that T20 cricket can move to another level,” Michael Vaughan said.
After Ireland’s defeat, will India give debut to Vaibhav Suryavanshi?
Vaibhav Suryavanshi earned the India call-up after an outstanding year in age-group and franchise cricket. He scored 175 runs in the U19 World Cup final and followed it up with 776 runs for Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2026. The left-handed batsman recently scored 94 runs in just 29 balls for India A against Sri Lanka A.
However, the 15-year-old remained on the bench in the first T20I against Ireland as India backed the opening pair of Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson. However, this decision was of no use, India fell far behind while chasing the target of 183 runs and were bowled out for 148 runs and lost by 34 runs.
India will now have to win the second T20 match on Sunday, June 28 to avoid series defeat. After the batting unit struggled early on, the team management may hand Suryavanshi his much-awaited senior international debut.