Steyn\u2019s post suggested the hopes for the longer format are tied to Sooryavanshi\u2019s decision.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nSteyn\u2019s target was clear: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. He argued that no administrator\u2019s roadshow and no broadcaster\u2019s promotional push can replicate the unique influence of a gifted young player publicly choosing to chase red-ball cricket\u2014and, specifically, the dream of playing Tests for India.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no bigger advertisement for Test cricket than if Sooryavanshi tells the world his dream is to play red ball for India,\u201d Steyn wrote on X. He added, \u201cOur hopes sit with you, young sir.\u201d The message was brief, but the undertone was unmistakable.<\/p>\n
Sooryavanshi\u2019s arrival in franchise cricket has been immediate and loud, arriving like a bolt of electricity. His aggressive hitting, fearless approach and the youthful timing that makes every knock feel almost unreal have already turned him into someone fans plan their evenings around. Yet the spotlight also brings a modern discomfort that never really goes away: when a teenager is this talented, which format should become their home?<\/p>\n
T20 cricket has changed the way ambition is written in the sport. Around the world, promising teenagers are being fast-tracked through franchise pathways where money, visibility and global attention arrive long before they have delivered the kind of classic proof\u2014like a first-class century or a five-wicket haul\u2014that traditionally signaled readiness for the highest levels.<\/p>\n
The incentives now feel blunt and heavy. They push players toward what is immediate and measurable in the short format, long before the slower tests of temperament and craft have had time to fully shape them. In that environment, Sooryavanshi\u2019s situation becomes even more pointed.<\/p>\n
The symbolic question<\/h3>\n
At an age when many cricketers are still navigating school routines and dressing-room basics, Sooryavanshi finds himself wrapped in intense public attention. That makes the debate not only about his personal route, but also about what the sport wants to see from future stars.<\/p>\n
In practical terms, it becomes a question of identity: what does a player with his profile choose to become? Steyn\u2019s intervention doesn\u2019t just comment on an individual\u2014it highlights the cultural weight of a teenager opting for Test cricket at a time when cricket\u2019s priorities are constantly under negotiation.<\/p>\n
Steyn\u2019s post does not attack T20 cricket. Instead, it does something more strategic and arguably more persuasive. He treats Sooryavanshi\u2019s hypothetical red-ball ambition as a declaration\u2014almost a public act of trust in the longer format\u2014precisely when cricket\u2019s balance of priorities is one of the sport\u2019s loudest arguments.<\/p>\n
If a player so young and so hyped places Test cricket at the centre of his goals, that choice carries more emotional and cultural meaning than any governing body can manufacture through slogans or staging.<\/p>\n
The former pacer, whose career in whites was built on dismantling batting units across different continents, chose his words with the careful restraint of someone who understands what the longest format actually requires. He didn\u2019t deliver a lecture. He simply outlined what such a declaration would signify\u2014and left the door open for Sooryavanshi to walk through it.<\/p>\n
India\u2019s relationship with Test cricket has always contained a specific kind of seriousness. For many years, the Test whites have served as the final benchmark of a batter\u2019s depth\u2014not just raw power or sharp timing, but the ability to occupy the crease, handle pressure across long stretches and build innings that can last when conditions and demands change.<\/p>\n
Sooryavanshi\u2019s current skill set, as it has been shaped so far, has been formed in environments built for scoring quickly and hitting through difficulty. The key question is whether that talent can be reshaped, stretched and made more complex by the patience and technical discipline that first-class and Test cricket demand.<\/p>\n
Steyn clearly believes it can. He also seems convinced that the teenager himself has the stature to shift the conversation\u2014not by force, but simply by wanting it strongly enough to make it visible.<\/p>\n
In the end, Steyn\u2019s message lands like a quiet challenge beneath the applause. T20 cricket has already made Sooryavanshi impossible to ignore; red-ball cricket, Steyn suggests, could make him permanent in the way the sport remembers those who commit to its most demanding stage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Test cricket has found a fresh public cheerleader, even if that support hasn\u2019t fully answered the bigger question of where some of the brightest young…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":13318,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"Dale Steyn on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi: IPL to Tests","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Dale Steyn believes Vaibhav Sooryavanshi\u2019s IPL spotlight can boost his Test chances, sparking fresh hope for India\u2019s young pace talent.","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13319","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ipl"],"yoast_head":"\n
Dale Steyn on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi: IPL to Tests<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Dale Steyn believes Vaibhav Sooryavanshi\u2019s IPL spotlight can boost his Test chances, sparking fresh hope for India\u2019s young pace talent.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/dale-steyn-backs-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-says-his-ipl-fame-could-fuel-tests\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Dale Steyn on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi: IPL to Tests\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Dale Steyn believes Vaibhav Sooryavanshi\u2019s IPL spotlight can boost his Test chances, sparking fresh hope for India\u2019s young pace talent.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/dale-steyn-backs-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-says-his-ipl-fame-could-fuel-tests\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"1Win India\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-31T02:13:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/dale-steyn-puts-weight-test-2085.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"522\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"295\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Arjun Patel\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Arjun Patel\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/dale-steyn-backs-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-says-his-ipl-fame-could-fuel-tests#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/dale-steyn-backs-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-says-his-ipl-fame-could-fuel-tests\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Arjun Patel\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9aac810730409fd3131f08f34023f33e\"},\"headline\":\"Dale Steyn backs Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, says his IPL fame could fuel Tests\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-31T02:13:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/dale-steyn-backs-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-says-his-ipl-fame-could-fuel-tests\"},\"wordCount\":835,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/dale-steyn-backs-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-says-his-ipl-fame-could-fuel-tests#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/dale-steyn-puts-weight-test-2085.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"IPL\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/dale-steyn-backs-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-says-his-ipl-fame-could-fuel-tests#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/dale-steyn-backs-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-says-his-ipl-fame-could-fuel-tests\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/dale-steyn-backs-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-says-his-ipl-fame-could-fuel-tests\",\"name\":\"Dale Steyn on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi: IPL to Tests\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/dale-steyn-backs-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-says-his-ipl-fame-could-fuel-tests#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/dale-steyn-backs-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-says-his-ipl-fame-could-fuel-tests#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/dale-steyn-puts-weight-test-2085.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-31T02:13:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9aac810730409fd3131f08f34023f33e\"},\"description\":\"Dale Steyn believes Vaibhav Sooryavanshi\u2019s IPL spotlight can boost his Test chances, sparking fresh hope for India\u2019s young pace talent.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/dale-steyn-backs-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-says-his-ipl-fame-could-fuel-tests#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/dale-steyn-backs-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-says-his-ipl-fame-could-fuel-tests\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/dale-steyn-backs-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-says-his-ipl-fame-could-fuel-tests#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/dale-steyn-puts-weight-test-2085.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/dale-steyn-puts-weight-test-2085.webp\",\"width\":522,\"height\":295},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/dale-steyn-backs-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-says-his-ipl-fame-could-fuel-tests#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Dale Steyn backs Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, says his IPL fame could fuel Tests\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/\",\"name\":\"1Win India\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9aac810730409fd3131f08f34023f33e\",\"name\":\"Arjun Patel\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3f44e79409232be03c88b435f2c295c5262fa91dfa5e23870d29241063bbaf5d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3f44e79409232be03c88b435f2c295c5262fa91dfa5e23870d29241063bbaf5d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3f44e79409232be03c88b435f2c295c5262fa91dfa5e23870d29241063bbaf5d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Arjun Patel\"},\"description\":\"Cricket analyst and sports writer with over 10 years of experience covering international and domestic matches. Specializes in match predictions, player performance analysis, and data-driven insights, with a strong focus on the Indian Premier League\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/1win.za.com\\\/ipl\\\/author\\\/arjunpatel\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Dale Steyn on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi: IPL to Tests","description":"Dale Steyn believes Vaibhav Sooryavanshi\u2019s IPL spotlight can boost his Test chances, sparking fresh hope for India\u2019s young pace talent.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/dale-steyn-backs-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-says-his-ipl-fame-could-fuel-tests","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Dale Steyn on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi: IPL to Tests","og_description":"Dale Steyn believes Vaibhav Sooryavanshi\u2019s IPL spotlight can boost his Test chances, sparking fresh hope for India\u2019s young pace talent.","og_url":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/dale-steyn-backs-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-says-his-ipl-fame-could-fuel-tests","og_site_name":"1Win India","article_published_time":"2026-05-31T02:13:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":522,"height":295,"url":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/dale-steyn-puts-weight-test-2085.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"Arjun Patel","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Arjun Patel","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/dale-steyn-backs-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-says-his-ipl-fame-could-fuel-tests#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/dale-steyn-backs-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-says-his-ipl-fame-could-fuel-tests"},"author":{"name":"Arjun Patel","@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/#\/schema\/person\/9aac810730409fd3131f08f34023f33e"},"headline":"Dale Steyn backs Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, says his IPL fame could fuel Tests","datePublished":"2026-05-31T02:13:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/dale-steyn-backs-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-says-his-ipl-fame-could-fuel-tests"},"wordCount":835,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/dale-steyn-backs-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-says-his-ipl-fame-could-fuel-tests#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/dale-steyn-puts-weight-test-2085.webp","articleSection":["IPL"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/dale-steyn-backs-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-says-his-ipl-fame-could-fuel-tests#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/dale-steyn-backs-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-says-his-ipl-fame-could-fuel-tests","url":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/dale-steyn-backs-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-says-his-ipl-fame-could-fuel-tests","name":"Dale Steyn on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi: IPL to Tests","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/dale-steyn-backs-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-says-his-ipl-fame-could-fuel-tests#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/dale-steyn-backs-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-says-his-ipl-fame-could-fuel-tests#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/dale-steyn-puts-weight-test-2085.webp","datePublished":"2026-05-31T02:13:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/#\/schema\/person\/9aac810730409fd3131f08f34023f33e"},"description":"Dale Steyn believes Vaibhav Sooryavanshi\u2019s IPL spotlight can boost his Test chances, sparking fresh hope for India\u2019s young pace talent.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/dale-steyn-backs-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-says-his-ipl-fame-could-fuel-tests#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/dale-steyn-backs-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-says-his-ipl-fame-could-fuel-tests"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/dale-steyn-backs-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-says-his-ipl-fame-could-fuel-tests#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/dale-steyn-puts-weight-test-2085.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/dale-steyn-puts-weight-test-2085.webp","width":522,"height":295},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/dale-steyn-backs-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-says-his-ipl-fame-could-fuel-tests#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Dale Steyn backs Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, says his IPL fame could fuel Tests"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/#website","url":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/","name":"1Win India","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/#\/schema\/person\/9aac810730409fd3131f08f34023f33e","name":"Arjun Patel","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3f44e79409232be03c88b435f2c295c5262fa91dfa5e23870d29241063bbaf5d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3f44e79409232be03c88b435f2c295c5262fa91dfa5e23870d29241063bbaf5d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3f44e79409232be03c88b435f2c295c5262fa91dfa5e23870d29241063bbaf5d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Arjun Patel"},"description":"Cricket analyst and sports writer with over 10 years of experience covering international and domestic matches. Specializes in match predictions, player performance analysis, and data-driven insights, with a strong focus on the Indian Premier League","url":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/author\/arjunpatel"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13319","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13319"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13319\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13318"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13319"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13319"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1win.za.com\/ipl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13319"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}