Former Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Kamran Akmal has backed Rajasthan Royals teenager Vaibhav Sooryavanshi for an India call-up after the IPL, saying the 15-year-old has already shown enough to enter the senior T20 conversation. The remarks come as Sooryavanshi’s start to IPL 2026 has turned him into one of the tournament’s biggest talking points.
Kamran Akmal backs Sooryavanshi for India call-up
Speaking on the YouTube show Gameplan, Kamran Akmal said: “In just 8 IPL games, he has been piling records – he already has a hundred. I think in the coming international games for India, he will get a chance after IPL. He will become a young player of the T20 international team. He has proved himself in every place. If he continues to perform, he will definitely get the chance.”
Akmal also highlighted the range and maturity in Sooryavanshi’s batting. “His presence of mind, game awareness, the way he plays – he has a counter to everything at such a young age. This is remarkable … We are discussing his performance more because it was a match of 128. But his performance is visible because he scored 50 runs on 15 balls,” he said.
The numbers behind the growing buzz
Sooryavanshi has grown in stature since his claim to fame in the last edition of the Indian Premier League. He grabbed attention with his batting in age-group and domestic cricket. However, the two biggest flashpoints of his short career are an IPL century and an ultra-aggressive 175 in the U-19 World Cup final.
His latest major statement came against the Chennai Super Kings. He blasted 52 off 17 balls, reached his fifty in just 15 deliveries, and helped Rajasthan Royals chase 128 in only 12.1 overs. The innings included five sixes and four fours and came in a 75-run opening stand with Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi had already entered IPL 2026 with serious attention around him. Ahead of IPL 2026, he was reportedly one of the standout young names of the tournament.
Akmal also credited the people behind the teenager’s rise. “His family and his father should be proud – the way he has worked with him, the way the others, too, like coaches who have taught him in school cricket, in club cricket,” he said. He then added: “I am afraid – when he is 25, the bowlers will not know what to do with him.”
The wider conversation has also grown beyond Akmal’s remarks. Former India players Mohammad Kaif and Piyush Chawla have backed a quicker move, while Ambati Rayudu has urged caution, given the competition for places in India’s T20 side. That has left Sooryavanshi at the centre of one of IPL 2026’s earliest debates.
