Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has become something of an enigma just at the age of 15, which has left many Indian experts, including current as well as former cricketers, in awe of him.
The former Pakistani cricketers are no different, and ex-fast bowler Tanvir Ahmed has now made a really bold claim. Speaking on a TV show, 47-year-old Tanvir said fans will forget Abhishek Sharma once Rajasthan Royals’ Sooryavanshi makes it to the playing XI of the Indian team in T20I matches.
Which is a massive statement! Even though Tanvir didn’t play many matches for Pakistan — just five Tests, 2 ODIs and 1 T20I — an international cricketer understands talent better than those who never made it far in cricket. Tanvir has no doubts whatsoever when he asserts, “When Sooryavanshi plays for India, people will forget Abhishek Sharma. And when both will be batting together, Abhishek won’t come even close to Sooryavanshi.”
“People won’t even notice Abhishek. Everyone will be looking at Sooryavanshi. On your TV screen, you wouldn’t even notice Abshishek,” he added.
Tanvir, however, made it clear that his comments are not for the long term. “Over a period of 10 years or so, however, I can’t say if Sooryavanshi will be as devastating. I am talking about right now,” he explained.
Sooryavanshi looks unstoppable at present!
On Friday night at Guwahati, Sooryavanshi scored another 15-ball fifty this season, this time against defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru. He was up against seasoned bowlers like Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, but he punished them like they were some average bowlers. In all, he made 78 off 26 balls with a shocking strike rate of 300. Thanks to his assault early on, RR remained unbeaten in the league with four wins in four games.
Sooryavanshi wasn’t always in attacking mode, it may be noted. There were times when he showed RCB bowlers plenty of respect by defending them, which means he is just not bang, bang. There is much more to him.
Meanwhile, Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Abhishek Sharma has had a dip in his stock value since the 2026 T20 World Cup that India won last month. Even though he scored important fifties against Zimbabwe in the Super 8s and New Zealand in the all-important final, by his high standards, the tournament didn’t turn out the way he would have wanted it to be for himself. Much as we would like Tanvir to be spot on with his Sooryavanshi remarks, we also hope that Abhishek proves him wrong.
