Batting star Sooryavanshi receives first India jersey

Fifteen-year-old cricket sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi donned his first official India jersey on Tuesday and said he had long dreamed of the moment.

Sooryavanshi was named in India’s T20 squad for the tours to Ireland and England, as well as the Asian Games, after sweeping the batting honours in this year’s Indian Premier League.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) released a video of the moment on Tuesday when the blue jersey was delivered to him, calling it “the moment the nation has been waiting for”.

“Ever since I first held a bat and walked onto a cricket field to practise, I dreamed of this moment… I cannot explain this feeling in words,” Sooryavanshi said in the BCCI video.

He was shown unpacking the shirt, with his name on the back above the number 03.

Sooryavanshi is line to become India’s youngest international player, surpassing Sachin Tendulkar, the batting great who made his Test debut aged 16 years and 205 days in 1989.

The spotlight has been on Sooryavanshi since his batting exploits in the IPL, where he amassed 776 runs for Rajasthan Royals to finish as the tournament’s leading run scorer.

He struck one century and five half-centuries during the season to pick up the Orange Cap for the leading run-getter.