Who is the youngest athlete in India’s Asian Games 2026 squad?

This will be the first major tournament with the senior men’s team for the 15-year-old Sooryavanshi. | Photo Credit: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR

Indian cricket’s wunderkind, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, will be the youngest member of the Indian contingent at the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi and Nagoya in Japan.

This will be the first major tournament with the senior men’s team for the 15-year-old Sooryavanshi.

After two blockbuster Indian Premier League seasons and performing exceedingly well at the junior level, Sooryavanshi made his senior debut, in T20I, during the away series in England earlier this year.

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He is just six innings into his international career but has already recorded two half-centuries while opening the batting. Sooryavanshi’s standout number is his strike rate—in all T20s he strikes at a mind-numbing 216.32.

His IPL numbers with Rajasthan Royals are equally staggering. The 15-year-old has scored 1,028 runs in 23 matches at 44.69 and a strike rate of 228.95 against some of the best bowlers in world cricket.

The men’s cricket event will begin on September 24, but India will only play its first game four days later. The Shreyas Iyer-led side will directly play the quarterfinals, but its opponent will be confirmed only after the first-round matches.