Teenage India batter Sooryavanshi involved in on-field altercation in Sri Lanka A match

DAMBULLA: Fifteen-year-old India batter Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was involved in an on-field altercation during an India A match against Sri Lanka A after his side lost narrowly in a Super Over on Monday.

The incident took place after the match in Dambulla, when Sri Lanka’s Vishen Halambage exchanged words with departing Indian batters. Sooryavanshi then reacted and shoved Halambage, with broadcast footage and Indian media reports capturing the confrontation. Sri Lanka A wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella intervened to defuse the situation and separated the two players.

The teams later went through the customary handshakes, but television images showed Sooryavanshi still visibly upset. The episode drew attention because the teenager has been under intense focus following his recent performances and his rapid rise in Indian cricket.

Sooryavanshi’s recent Indian Premier League season for Rajasthan Royals was a standout one. The left-handed opener scored 776 runs to finish as the tournament’s leading run-scorer, collecting the Orange Cap. His campaign included one century and five half-centuries, and he also received the league’s most valuable player and emerging player awards.

Those performances earned him a place in India’s senior men’s squad for the upcoming T20 tour of Ireland and England. He is in line to become India’s youngest player, younger than Sachin Tendulkar, who made his Test debut at 16 years and 205 days in 1989.

India’s senior team are scheduled to play Ireland in Belfast on June 26 and 28. Their series against England is due to begin on July 1 in Chester-le-Street.