Eng vs Ind – Vaibhav Sooryavanshi to use separate dressing room during India’s tour of England

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi will be required to use his own dressing room that is separate from the rest of his India team-mates during the upcoming five-match T20I series in England, in accordance with ICC and ECB safeguarding regulations for players who are under the age of 16.

Sooryavanshi, 15, will be allowed in the India dressing room during the matches and for team talks but will have to use the separate dressing room while getting changed at the five venues. It is not yet clear whether this regulation will apply to India’s two T20Is in Ireland, which precede the series in England.

In football, Arsenal’s Max Dowman was required to use a separate changing room from his team-mates until he turned 16 in December last year.

“This is an ICC event, with their safeguarding procedures active as they have jurisdiction,” the ECB was quoted as saying by the Guardian. “A safeguarding concern occurring during the event may be managed by the ICC. In addition to this, the ECB Safe Hands policy applies at all times.

“The Cricket Regulator is in contact with the Team Liaison Officer (TLO) for the Indian team to discuss requirements and expectations for the player while he is in the UK. Each County Safeguarding Officer for the relevant cricket venue is also working closely with the Team Liaison Officer to ensure venue protocols and arrangements are understood and adhered to. This is conducted via safeguarding risk assessments.

“It is our understanding that the player’s parents will be travelling with him at all times. They are staying in the same hotel, which is outside of usual protocol, but agreed on this occasion due to his age. This additional measure provides us with further confidence that he has family members that can provide the additional level of support and care.”

Sooryavanshi has already been part of various men’s dressing rooms in his fledging career – for his state teams in domestic cricket, for Rajasthan Royals in the IPL, and for India A during the recent tri-series in Sri Lanka. If he plays a T20I in Ireland or England, Sooryavanshi will become the youngest Indian men’s debutant, breaking Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 16 years and 205 days.

India play two T20Is against Ireland in Belfast on June 26 and 28, before travelling to England to play five T20Is followed by three ODIs. The T20Is are in Chester-le-Street (July 1), Manchester (July 4), Nottingham (July 7), Bristol (July 9) and Southampton (July 11).

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