Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has earned his maiden India call-up at just 15 years of age after a remarkable IPL season that established him as one of the brightest young talents in the country. The Rajasthan Royals batter enjoyed a record-breaking campaign, winning the Orange Cap and finishing as the tournament’s leading run-scorer with 776 runs.
Sooryavanshi’s fearless approach caught widespread attention as he smashed 76 sixes during the season, the highest tally ever recorded by a player in a single IPL edition. He also rewrote several batting records while maintaining a staggering strike rate of 237.30, making him one of the standout performers of the tournament. His exploits left the selectors with little choice but to fast-track him into the national setup. Chief selector Ajit Agarkar acknowledged that Sooryavanshi’s performances were impossible to ignore, with the teenager earning selection in India’s T20I squads for the England and Ireland tours, as well as the upcoming Asian Games.
Former England spinner Graeme Swann believes Sooryavanshi’s selection is a boost not just for India but for world cricket, praising the 15-year-old for exceeding expectations during his record-breaking IPL campaign. Swann admitted he had doubts about whether the teenager could handle the challenge of facing elite bowlers, but said Sooryavanshi answered every question with remarkable maturity and skill.
“I’m glad he has been picked, for the sake of world cricket. He’s the box-office man of the moment. I think he should play against Ireland. I wasn’t entirely sure how good he was coming into this IPL. I knew he had talent, and he scored a big hundred in the U19 World Cup Final. But I thought world-class bowlers would find him out. There would be too much pace and too much planning against him. However, every question that was asked of him, he answered with aplomb,” Swann said on JioStar’s ‘Cricket Live’.
“This kid is the real deal”
The former England spinner said the youngster’s fearless assault on world-class bowlers, including Pat Cummins, showed he was ready for international cricket and argued that India had every reason to fast-track a player he believes can dominate the game for years to come.
“The 97 he scored in the Eliminator, I’ve rarely seen hitting like that. As he was smashing Pat Cummins all over the ground, I was thinking, ‘This kid is the real deal.’ I didn’t see the point of not involving him, or not bringing him into the senior team, because you’ve got an absolute world-beater on your hands for the next 20 years,” he added.
