Former England captain Michael Vaughan was all praise for the 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, but also laid bare one weakness, saying the fielding department might be the one where the youngster needs to improve a little bit. The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season saw the left-handed batter play as an impact sub in some matches, and the tactic of the Rajasthan Royals left even the youngster puzzled, as one of the coaches revealed that Sooryavanshi prides himself on his fielding.
Vaughan said that no one really knows whether Sooryavanshi can handle the workload of being in the field first and hence asked Harry Brook’s England to take advantage of the situation and ask India to bowl first whenever they win the toss in the upcoming five-match series, beginning July 1 in Durham.
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Vaughan might have advised England to bat first, but Sooryavanshi is no stranger to fielding, as he stayed for hours in the field during the U19 World Cup and the recent Tri-Nation A series. However, the recent India A matches saw Sooryavanshi bat first on all the occasions.
“The one thing he’s going to have to cope with is his fielding. There’s no impact sub where he can sit on the bench. If I were England, I’d ask India to field first because then by the time Sooryavanshi comes to bat, he might be tired,” Michael Vaughan said on Ajinkya Rahane’s YouTube channel.
‘That is the norm’
Vaughan also believes that Sooryavanshi has taken the T20 format by storm, and his style of play has pushed the par score to 230 in the shortest format. He also added that the left-handed batter has sent a message to the world about how T20 cricket should be played.
“There’s only one name that is being talked about here, and that is the 15-year-old kid. I think T20 cricket, particularly through Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, has taken the game to 230 being a par score. I think that is the norm now; teams are looking to get 230-plus. Opening batters are going harder than ever. It is almost as if a 15-year-old has sent a message to the rest of the world that T20 cricket can go to another level,” the former England captain said.
Sooryavanshi didn’t get to make his T20I debut in the opener against Ireland on Friday, as he warmed the bench. Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson got their chance, and it remains to be seen whether the management decides to give one of them a rest and bring the youngster into the lineup to make him the youngest ever debutant for Team India.
The left-hander has had a memorable 2026 so far, scoring 175 in the U19 World Cup final and then backing it up with a 776-run season for the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL 2026 season.