Mumbai: Everyone in India knows Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. His exploits in the Indian Premier League have made him a household name. His performances for India at the age-group level have underlined his potential and his age lends an aura of disbelief to everything he does.
Now, the world is all set to learn what India has already experienced for a while. If he wears an India cap on Friday at 15, he could become the talk of the world.
On many levels, he already is — but his appeal outside India is still confined to hardcore fans. Talk shows in England featured segments dedicated to the Indian wonder kid, even as their team is engaged in a high-profile Test series.
Seldom has a cricketer’s debut attracted such interest but the southpaw’s bat speed, shot selection, and fearless approach make him look like a once-in-a-generation talent. It is like seeing the future in the present. The kind of thing you’ll watch and brag about years later.
Fitting the dynamic left-hand opening batter into a packed top-order which includes Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan, however, will be a challenge for the team management. If it happens, the Bihar southpaw will become India’s youngest international cricketer, breaking Sachin Tendulkar’s record (who played for India at 16 years and 205 days).
International quality bowling will be a step up from the cricket he has played. The conditions could prove challenging. But former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar, who first brought Tendulkar to the India nets to face Kapil Dev’s bowling to test his readiness, believes Sooryavanshi is ready.
“He is young and has been around for the last couple of years in the IPL, and he has played with and against the best players of the world. International cricket won’t affect him that much. I’m sure he must have learnt a lot in the last couple of years, and the experience gained in the one-day tri-series in Sri Lanka will stand him in good stead,” said Vengsarkar, who is on a tour of the UK with the Mumbai Cricket Association’s Emerging players team.
Vengsarkar added: “He has been going for his shots from the word go, his hand eye coordination and bat speed are excellent. We can expect the same thing from him (in the international arena).” I am sure he will be successful because he is quite a positive lad; positivity is very important.”
The Rajasthan Royals’ batter had a record-breaking IPL 2026, scoring 776 runs (SR 237.31), beating Chris Gayle’s record (59) of most sixes in a season, hitting 13 more. He warmed up for his first international tour with a marauding 29-ball 94 against Sri Lanka A in the tri-series final at Dambulla on Sunday.
Even the great Tendulkar has taken note. “Everyone is talking about Sooryavanshi, and I watched him bat — it was magnificent,” Tendulkar said recently at the Cricinfo Honours. “He is something truly special. And not just the ability to hit the ball, but what also fascinated me was the wrist work that he has. And he is not slogging the ball. He is just picking the line and length earlier than the rest of the guys and he is able to clear the rope comfortably.”
A good way to judge a player’s performance is by the opposition’s reaction. During the IPL, big names like Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya, Gujarat Titans captain Shubman Gill and Lucknow Super Giants coach Justin Langer, were left marvelling at his audacious strokeplay.
After Sooryavanshi hammered a swashbuckling 93 off 38 balls (10 sixes) against LSG, coach Langer, who played over 100 Tests for Australia, had predicted the batter will adapt wherever he plays. “You know, people say to me, would Bradman have made so many runs in the days where, you know, they could wear helmets or blah blah blah, and I’d say, well, he would adapt,” Langer said. “And Sooryavanshi’s that good. So he’ll adapt, he’ll keep getting better and better, which is scary for world cricket.”
How does he put so much pressure on the bowlers? Former India bowling coach Paras Mhambrey, who also coaches MI’s bowlers, said: “He has great abilities and an overall game… there is no area we can really exploit to keep him quiet,” said Mhambrey. “Plus as a bowler you will be under added pressure, knowing that if you err, he is going to hurt you.”
Vengsarkar advised Sooryavanshi to remember is also human and not get fazed when dealing with the low points. “Now wherever he plays for India, whatever game he plays, there will be high expectations because a lot of people will come to watch him apart from a large TV audience. There will be pressure of expectations, he is also human and there will be ups and downs in cricket so that’s bound to happen in cricket, he has to take it positively and move on.”