Former England captain Nasser Hussain has shed light on the extraordinary arrangements surrounding 15-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi ahead of India’s five-match T20I series in England, saying the teenager cannot even change in the same dressing room as his teammates due to safeguarding regulations.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) and England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) safeguarding regulations prohibit players under the age of 16 from using adult changing rooms.
As a result, Suryavanshi will have separate changing facilities at all five venues. He will continue to have access to India’s dressing room during matches and team meetings, with the restriction applying only while changing before and after games.
“Well, it is an incredible story,” Hussain said on Sky Sports.
“The Indian team have let his parents travel with him because he’s so young. They’re breaking the rules because that’s generally not allowed to have family with you in hotels. But his parents, and the other thing, the challenge here, because it’s an ECB [England & Wales Cricket Board] and an ICC [International Cricket Council] event here, not an IPL event. There are safeguarding issues. He can’t even change… because he’s 15… in the same dressing room as the rest of the Indian side. That’s how unique the situation is. And that is how unique that cricketer is,” he added.
The ECB confirmed that safeguarding officers at each venue are working with the Indian team to ensure that changing room arrangements and venue protocols are followed through safeguarding risk assessments.
On his parents travelling with him, the ECB said, “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.”
Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Secretary Devajit Saikia also confirmed that the board would bear the travel and accommodation expenses of Suryavanshi’s parents.
Suryavanshi is the youngest player ever selected for the Indian men’s cricket team at 15 years and 71 days old.
He is expected to become India’s youngest international cricketer when he makes his debut in the T20I series against Ireland before travelling to England for the five-match series starting July 1.
His Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 campaign saw him amass 776 runs, including a century and 72 sixes.
