NEW DELHI: Young Mumbai and Punjab Kings all-rounder Suryansh Shedge, who earned his maiden India call-up on Tuesday after replacing the injured Nitish Kumar Reddy in India’s T20I squads for the series against Ireland and England, was naturally brimming with joy.“Actually, I still can’t sink it in, and I think I won’t be able to sink it in until I get on the flight! I still can’t believe it! This has been my dream since childhood. And obviously, it’s a very special feeling. And I feel very proud and happy for my parents (Prashant and Priyadarshini), because of the sacrifices they have made for me. If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t have been able to be a cricketer,” the 23-year-old told TOI.“My mom was working in a bank, but she quit her job because she had to accompany me to practice and matches,” he revealed.Shedge has been training under former India batter Jatin Paranjape for the last two years, with the former cricketer working hard to hone his ward’s game.Expressing gratitude to his coaches, Shedge said, “The way Manish Bangera, Jatin and Monty Desai have helped me through my journey, it’s very heartwarming because they truly believed in me. If the environment is such that everyone knows my capabilities, and if they keep telling me constantly (about my abilities), self-belief comes automatically. So, that helped me a lot.”It will help Shedge that he has played under Shreyas Iyer, India’s new T20 captain, for both Mumbai and Punjab Kings.“That’s totally true. In the last two years, I’ve made four debuts under him — in the SMAT, Vijay Hazare Trophy, India A and the IPL. He’s somebody who gives his 100% in terms of attitude and commitment to the team, and that mentality creeps into the whole side,” Shedge said.Announcing Shedge’s selection as Reddy’s replacement after the latter suffered a quadriceps injury, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia stated, “Suryansh earned the call-up following a string of impressive performances for India A in the recently concluded tri-series in Sri Lanka. Batting in the middle order, the 23-year-old scored 147 runs in five matches and also chipped in with the ball, bowling 23 overs across the tournament. He was also one of the standout performers for Mumbai in their victorious Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy campaign in 2024-25, scoring 131 runs at a strike rate of 251.92 in the lower middle order.”Obviously, Shedge’s ability to churn out big hits in the slog overs, along with contributing a few useful overs of medium pace, has earned the confidence of Ajit Agarkar and his fellow selectors.India begin their tour with a two-match T20I series against Ireland in Belfast on Friday before taking on England in a five-match T20I series, starting in Chester-le-Street on July 1.However, Shedge felt he “should have done better” in the tri-series in Sri Lanka.“I didn’t do well in the last two matches,” he rued.India are slated to play five T20Is and three ODIs in England in July. Incidentally, India are without the services of star all-rounder Hardik Pandya on the UK tour due to a quadriceps injury and workload-related issues. Reddy was expected to fill the void left by Hardik, but now Shedge will be tasked with filling those big boots.After performing well for India A, was he expecting this opportunity?“No. For the last two-three years, my mindset has been that I shouldn’t have any expectations from my cricket, because I feel that at this stage, it’s important to remind yourself why you started playing cricket. When I was 8-10 years old and I used to step on the field, I just enjoyed playing the sport. So, somewhere along the way, we forget that. However, for the last two-three years, I have been practising gratitude and reminding myself why I started playing cricket,” he said.“So I don’t have any expectations,” he added.Shedge’s CV has been boosted by his ability to bowl a useful brand of medium pace.“I think that my bowling has improved a lot in the last two years, and that’s something I’ve been working on diligently, because I know how handy it can be for a team. And if I want to contribute, I’ll have to improve day by day,” he commented.Shedge scored 158 runs in seven matches at an average of 39.50 for Punjab Kings in IPL 2026.“I faced international bowlers in the IPL, so that was also a big confidence booster. And after sitting out for half a season, I felt very proud to be playing in the XI,” he said.Whom does he try to emulate as an all-rounder? The all-rounder smiled, “I idolise Ben Stokes. If you see, he puts in a spell of 12 overs in the Ashes. And he also has to do it for his team. He has to contribute. So I look up to him.”