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Sri Lankan cricket legend Kumar Sangakkara recently reminisced about a standout moment involving the young prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi during the last Indian Premier League season, when he was serving as the Director of Cricket for the Rajasthan Royals. 

Sangakkara shared that it was his first time witnessing Sooryavanshi bat in the nets, and the performance was nothing short of spectacular, leaving everyone around him in awe. 

“I first saw Vaibhav when I came in for a two-week period to Guwahati. And I went to the side, there was this tiny, horrible little side net in terms of facing up to the likes of Archer and Sandeep Sharma and all the fast bowlers with new balls, and no one really wanted to bat there. And I saw this, Vaibhav walking [and telling him], 'I'll bat.' New balls on, and I could just hear the sound of his bat, like a gunshot every single time,” said Sangakkara on Sky Sports.

"And I think he just put Archer to the sword; he put Sandeep Sharma to the sword. So much so that at one time, I think Archer stopped and laughed. Because he was bowling quickly, and this 14-year-old kid was just treating him with absolute disdain,” he added.

Read also: Not a good start for Shreyas Iyer as debutant Hollard dismissed captain for 3 off 7 in Belfast

After watching Sooryavanshi's incredible display, Sangakkara wasted no time in telling then-head coach Rahul Dravid that this teenage talent was more than ready to step up for the team. Unfortunately, Sooryavanshi didn’t make it into India’s playing XI for the first T20I against Ireland, where the reigning world champions faced a tough loss against the hosts at Stormont. 

“And that's when I saw him, and my feedback to Rahul, walking out, was, yeah, ready to play anytime you want him to play. Kid's just incredible,” said Sangakkara.

On June 26 in Belfast, Ireland made history by defeating India for the first time in men's T20 Internationals, winning by 34 runs. The Indian batting lineup struggled to build on Abhishek Sharma's half-century, ultimately getting bowled out for 148 while chasing a target of 183 runs. To make matters worse, newly appointed captain Shreyas Iyer had a rough start with the bat as well. 

India's performance on the field was lackluster after they opted to field first. A few misfields and underwhelming spells from Washington Sundar and Prasidh Krishna added to their troubles. While the Indian captain stumbled, it was Ireland's new skipper, Lorcan Tucker, who shone with a half-century, and Gareth Delany narrowly missed out on his own. 

At the crease, none of the Indian batters seemed to grasp the pitch conditions, while Irish debutants Jai Moondra and Matt Hollard took charge. In the end, India became the eighth ICC full member nation to fall to Ireland in this format.