With every knock he played in IPL 2026, the clamour around his potential India debut grew louder and louder. It reached a fever pitch earlier this week when he carved out two mature knocks in the 90s in the playoffs under contrasting conditions, showing that he is much more than sheer strike rate and sixes.
Throughout the season, discussions around the 15-year-old ranged from comparisons with the legendary Sachin Tendulkar to why the BCCI should not delay his India T20I debut, before later peaking on whether he could eventually become an all-format player.
Speaking at the Cricinfo Honours in Mumbai on Saturday, where he was named the best men’s international batter of the 21st century, and in the presence of BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar, Tendulkar admitted he would like to see Sooryavanshi play Test cricket — but only eventually.
“I would tell him to just be himself,” he said. “There is always a first time. In Test cricket, along with age, he will learn how to deal with various challenges. [It’s about] having a solution-oriented mindset. Problems are always going to be there. Problems will be there till the last day of your career, till the last ball you face. The bowler is asking a question every ball. Now, what solutions do you find?
“He’s kind of a player who looks very confident, very, very sure of what he wants to do and I would not want to play around with his natural instincts.
“The way he sees the ball and the way he responds to that, if that signal is interrupted — if you put a lot of hurdles in between that by telling him multiple things — that’s where the real challenge would be. I would give him the freedom to go out and bat the way he does. Along with time, he will learn to deal with other challenges of the game.”
When pressed on whether he would like to see Sooryavanshi play Test cricket, Tendulkar immediately called for caution around the growing clamour over his India debut. He urged people to encourage and support the teenager rather than burden him with constant pressure about playing for India, irrespective of the format.
As for Test cricket, Tendulkar made it clear that he would like to see Sooryavanshi play the traditional format one day, but stressed that the teenager should not be rushed.
“When Ajit is sitting here, I better be careful what I am saying. I’m not a selector. Not just me, but everyone would want to see him [playing Test cricket] at some stage. I don’t know when that is going to happen.
“But an exciting talent needs encouragement. And if he’s doing well, then we need to encourage and support him and enjoy above all and not put pressure on him constantly, you know, he should play this, or he shouldn’t be doing this, or he should be picked in whatever squad. Leave that to the guys [selectors] who are responsible for that,” he said.
Those words perhaps stem from Tendulkar’s own experience as a teenage prodigy.
At the age of 16, he was fast-tracked into the Indian team for the tour of Pakistan, where he made his debut in the Karachi Test in 1989, becoming India’s youngest-ever Test debutant at the time. A month later, during the same tour, he made his ODI debut as well.
Tendulkar went on to play 664 international matches for India, including 200 Tests and 463 ODIs, scoring more than 34,000 international runs and compiling a century of centuries.
Speculation is already rife that Sooryavanshi could make his India debut after the IPL, with several white-ball assignments lined up. The selectors have already picked him for the India A tri-series in Sri Lanka next month, with Agarkar indicating that the committee will closely monitor his performances before taking further decisions on the Rajasthan Royals batter.
Meanwhile, a PTI report on Saturday revealed that Sooryavanshi is part of the T20I list submitted to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) for the Asian Games, set to be held in Aichi-Nagoya from September 19 to October 4. Should he make 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. What he saw left him stunned.
And it wasn’t merely the six-hitting.
It was the wrist work, the balance and the ability to read the game that impressed him the most.
“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.
“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.”
