As the curtain rises on IPL 2026, the buzz around Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s possible India debut has only intensified with each innings. Attention spiked again earlier this week when he produced two composed knocks in the 90s during the playoffs, negotiating very different conditions with maturity. The performances have reinforced the idea that his value goes well beyond raw strike rate and boundary-hitting.
Throughout the season, conversations about the 15-year-old have ranged widely—from comparisons with the iconic Sachin Tendulkar to arguments for why the BCCI should not postpone his India T20I outing. More recently, the debate has shifted to a bigger question: whether Sooryavanshi can eventually grow into an all-format prospect.
Speaking at the Cricinfo Honours in Mumbai on Saturday, where he was honoured as the best men’s international batter of the 21st century, Tendulkar shared his thoughts in the presence of BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar. The batting legend said he would like to see Sooryavanshi play Test cricket, but only at the right time.
“I would tell him to just be himself,” Tendulkar said. “There is always a first time. In Test cricket, along with age, he will learn how to deal with a range of challenges. It’s about having a solution-focused mindset. Problems are going to keep coming—right up to the last day of your career, right down to the last ball you face. Every delivery asks the bowler’s question, so what answers do you find?”
Tendulkar added that Sooryavanshi’s temperament is already a major strength. “He’s the type of player who looks confident—very, very sure about what he wants to do. I wouldn’t want anyone to interfere with his natural instincts. The real difficulty would come if you try to interrupt the way he reads the ball and reacts to it. If you put too many hurdles in between by telling him multiple things, that’s where the challenge lies. I’d rather give him the freedom to bat the way he does. With time, he will learn to handle the game’s other demands as well.”
When asked directly whether he would like to see Sooryavanshi in Tests sooner rather than later, Tendulkar urged caution against the mounting pressure tied to an India call-up. He stressed that supporters should encourage the teenager rather than pile on expectations about representing the country, regardless of format.
On the subject of the longer format, Tendulkar made his position clear: he wants Sooryavanshi to play Test cricket one day, but believes there should be no rush. “Ajit is sitting here, so I better be careful what I say. I’m not a selector. Not just me—everyone would want to see him [play Test cricket] at some stage. I don’t know when that is going to happen,” he said. “But an exciting talent needs encouragement. If he’s doing well, then we need to encourage and support him and, above all, enjoy the process rather than constantly putting pressure on him—whether he should do this, whether he shouldn’t, or whether he should be picked in some squad. That part should be left to the people [selectors] who are responsible for it.”
Tendulkar’s comments also echoed his own journey as a teenager who was fast-tracked into elite cricket. At the age of 16, he was brought into the Indian set-up for the tour of Pakistan, making his Test debut in Karachi in 1989. At that point, he became India’s youngest-ever Test debutant. A month later, still during the same tour, he also made his ODI debut.
Over the course of his career, Tendulkar went on to play 664 international matches for India—200 Tests and 463 ODIs—scoring more than 34,000 international runs and finishing with a tally that included a century of centuries.
With the IPL now providing the latest stage for his rise, speculation is already building that Sooryavanshi could earn his India debut after the tournament, with a series of white-ball assignments reportedly lined up. The selectors have also included him in the India A tri-series in Sri Lanka next month, and Agarkar has indicated that his performances will be closely watched before any further decisions are taken on the Rajasthan Royals batter.
In the meantime, a PTI update on Saturday said Sooryavanshi has been named in the T20I list submitted to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) for the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, scheduled from September 19 to October 4. If he makes his debut at the Asiad, he would become India’s youngest-ever debutant.
‘Something truly special’
By his own admission, Tendulkar only tuned in to watch Sooryavanshi after hearing the growing chatter around him—and what he saw left him genuinely impressed. For Tendulkar, it was not solely the six-hitting that stood out. “Everyone is talking about Sooryavanshi, and I watched him bat—it was magnificent,” Tendulkar said. “I mean 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.”
Tendulkar further explained why that skill matters at the highest level. “To be able to play in all directions of the ground, you need good wrist work. 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.”
