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BCCI Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar has said that 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has been rewarded with a place in the India A setup after his promising performances, adding that the selectors aim to gradually expose emerging talent to higher levels of competitive cricket.
The 15-year-old sensation, who is having a stellar Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season, was named in the India A squad for the upcoming one-day tri-series in Sri Lanka, scheduled to be held in June. The Rajasthan Royals opener has amassed 486 runs in 12 matches this season, at a blistering strike rate of 234.78. He has been a force to reckon with and is the eighth-leading run-scorer of the season. Speaking during the announcement of India's Test and ODI squads for the Afghanistan series on Tuesday, Agarkar said the focus remains on providing opportunities while ensuring players gain experience at the right stage of their development. "We've picked him for the A team, again, someone so young and obviously shown so much promise, and you keep trying to give them wherever you can let them gain that experience, give them the exposure. Let's not forget there's a Yashasvi Jaiswal who's not part of that one-day setup, and he's just got a 100 last time he played for India," Agarkar said. He also noted that while Sooryavanshi has impressed in the Indian Premier League (IPL), there are several other players performing consistently at the domestic and international level. "So, as impressive as Sooryavanshi has been, there are other guys who've, who've done as well for India. I mean, we are very excited with what he's been doing in the IPL, and hopefully he shows a bit of that when he travels with the India A team," he added. India will face Afghanistan in a three-match ODI series from June 14 to June 20, following a one-off Test starting from June 6. Shubman Gill is set to lead the side in both formats, with KL Rahul appointed vice-captain in the longest format, replacing Rishabh Pant. Meanwhile, Shreyas Iyer has been named vice-captain for the 50-over format. India's Test squad: Shubman Gill (captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul (vice-captain), Rishabh Pant (wk), Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Manav Suthar, Harsh Dubey and Gurnoor Brar. India ODI squad: Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (vc), KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Prince Yadav, Gurnoor Brar, Harsh Dubey. Note: Rohit's inclusion in the ODI squad, along with Hardik's, is subject to fitness clearance. (ANI)
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