Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, the 15-year-old cricketing phenomenon set to become the youngest player to represent India, cannot share a dressing room with his older teammates due to safeguarding laws during upcoming T20 internationals in Ireland and England.
Safeguarding Protocols Enforced
Safeguarding protocols mandated by global cricket body ICC and the United Kingdom, enforced by the England and Wales Cricket Board and Cricket Ireland, prohibit players under the age of 16 from using adult dressing rooms. So prodigy Sooryavanshi, the highest scorer in this year’s Indian Premier League who has been breaking records for fun in the white-ball game with incredible six-hitting, will use a separate dressing room during the two-match, 20-over series against Ireland starting on Friday and next month’s five T20s against England.
Separate Facilities Arranged
“The Indian team have been given three separate rooms in the pavilion and safeguarding laws have been advised,” a Cricket Ireland spokesperson said on Wednesday, adding the Indian cricket board would manage the arrangements in accordance with UK laws.
Similar Precedent in Football
Arsenal’s soccer star Ethan Nwaneri faced a similar issue until last year as he was banned from the team’s dressing room due to Premier League regulations barring under-18 players from sharing a changing room with senior professionals.
Record-Breaking Performances
Sooryavanshi, who on Sunday scored the fastest List A fifty in just 11 balls while playing for India A, does not turn 16 until March 2027.
