Sri Lanka's first captain waits for an hour after Dambulla's tense clash to meet Vaibhav Sooryavanshi

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has had a quiet time with the bat in Sri Lanka, having travelled to the Island Nation to play a tri-series for the India A team. In three innings, he has registered scores of 14, 44, and 21. He was selected to the side last month on the back of exemplary performances during the Indian Premier League (IPL), where he won the Orange Cap and Most Valuable Player award. However, the 15-year-old is still waiting for a substantial innings in the tri-series involving India A, Sri Lanka A, and Afghanistan A.

On Monday, June 15, India A lost to Sri Lanka A in the Super Over in Dambulla, with Sooryavanshi failing to help the tourists chase down a 17-run target. Following the defeat, Sooryavanshi got into a heated altercation with the Sri Lankan players, even shoving one of them after being sledged.

After the match, Sri Lanka's first ODI captain, Anura Tennekoon, waited for nearly an hour to meet Sooryavanshi. Once the Bihar batter saw him, he bent down to touch his feet. The 79-year-old Tennekoon pulled him in for a hug.

"You focus on your game and cut out the outside noise," Tennekoon told Sooryavanshi, as quoted by Sportstar.

Tennekoon also revealed that he had kept tabs on the Rajasthan Royals opening batter during the IPL and was particularly impressed by his ability to hit sixes. Sooryavanshi finished with the most sixes in IPL 2026. He broke Chris Gayle's long-standing record for the most sixes hit in a particular season of the cash-rich league.

"I was really impressed by his batting in the IPL. And hitting those sixes and fours the way he does is something unbelievable. I hope he continues in this way," Tennekoon said.

India A have won one game and lost two so far in the tri-series. They will have to win their last league game against Afghanistan A on Wednesday, June 17. However, even a win wouldn't guarantee them a place in the final. Tilak Varma and Co. will have to step up and do justice to their talent.