NEW DELHI: Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) vice-president Rajiv Shukla defended the selection process after teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi made his India debut, saying the board gives opportunities purely on merit.Shukla rejected social media claims that Sooryavanshi was being unfairly overlooked and said he had always believed that the youngster would get his chance at the right time.“Huge congratulations to Vaibhav Sooryavanshi for his debut and for getting this opportunity. The BCCI does not treat anyone unfairly; those who deserve to get their chance. There was a lot of uproar on social media saying that opportunities were not given; people were criticizing the coach and the captain. But that was not the case,” Shukla told ANI.He added that he was confident that Sooryavanshi would make the most of the opportunity.“I said the other day that when the right moment came, he would certainly have his chance, and yesterday, he did. I believe that he will perform well in the future and really come into his own. It is an excellent decision by the management of the team, and we must appreciate it,” he said.
The youngest Indian international
Sooryavanshi created history after being named in the India playing XI for the second T20I against England in Manchester.At 15 years and 99 days, the Bihar batsman became the youngest player to represent India in international cricket across all formats. He also became the youngest player from a Test-playing nation to make his T20I debut.The left-handed opener made an entertaining start to his international career, scoring 14 off 10 balls with two sixes before being stumped by Will Jacks.In the process, he surpassed the previous records held by Sachin Tendulkar and Piyush Chawla to become India’s youngest international cricketer.
England take the lead in the series
India posted 190/7 after useful contributions from Abhishek Sharma (43), Shreyas Iyer (37), Ishan Kishan (49) and Tilak Varma, who remained unbeaten on 24 off 11 balls. Sam Curran starred with the ball for England, returning figures of 3/33.England’s chase got off to a nightmare start as Phil Salt and Jos Buttler were dismissed for ducks in the opener – the first time both England openers have fallen for ducks in a T20I innings.Captain Harry Brook swung the momentum with a blistering 39 off just 15 balls before Jacob Bethell anchored the chase with an unbeaten 76 off 46 deliveries. Bethell shared a crucial partnership with Tom Banton (39) before ending the game with Jofra Archer.England reached the target in 19 overs to win by four wickets and take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series after the opening T20I was washed out.