India face training hiccup before 1st T20I, but Gautam Gambhir's chat with Sooryavanshi becomes Belfast talking point

With anticipation building around India's playing XI, all eyes will now be on whether Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's long-awaited moment arrives in Belfast on Friday.

India's final training session on Thursday, ahead of the T20I series against Ireland, hit a minor snag after the visiting team raised concerns about the practice facilities in Belfast. But once the issue was resolved, the spotlight quickly shifted to 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who could make his international debut on Friday and become the youngest player ever to represent India.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi trained with the senior Indian team in Belfast on Thursday (HT_PRINT)

According to a PTI report, the Indian team management flagged an issue after discovering that one of the practice pitches lacked a sightscreen behind the bowler's arm, making it difficult for batters to pick up the ball against the backdrop.

"Yes, there have been some issues with practice facilities, but the Indian team's support staff have brought this to the notice of Irish officials," a BCCI source said.

The matter was swiftly addressed after India's operations manager discussed it with the hosts. Cricket Ireland made the necessary arrangements, allowing the session to proceed without further disruption.

For a city not known for cricket fever, Belfast witnessed unusual excitement around India's training session. From local journalists to members of the Indian diaspora, curiosity largely revolved around one player — Sooryavanshi.

Gambhir chats with Sooryavanshi

The moment that generated the most intrigue, however, came after the youngster completed his first net session with the senior side. A brief interaction with head coach Gautam Gambhir immediately caught the attention of onlookers and fuelled further speculation about a possible debut.

According to a report in RevSportz, Sooryavanshi batted for around 45 minutes after beginning the session with stretching drills. He first faced the fast bowlers, including Harshit Rana and Prasidh Krishna, before taking on the spin trio of Ravi Bishnoi, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar.

As soon as his session ended, Sooryavanshi was seen in conversation with Gambhir. Batting coach Sitanshu Kotak also joined the discussion, with the trio engaged in a brief but animated exchange.

With anticipation building around India's playing XI, all eyes will now be on whether Sooryavanshi's long-awaited moment arrives in Belfast on Friday.