BCCI receives urgent appeal to fly Vaibhav Sooryavanshi to England after gulf between him and Yashasvi Jaiswal evident

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is red-hot at the moment, and it won't be a bad time for the BCCI to consider him for India's next big limited-overs assignment.

Is there anything Vaibhav Sooryavanshi can’t do? Give him the bat and see miracles unfold. Line him up against fast bowlers cranking up speeds of 155 clicks, and he’ll smash them for fun. Make him bat in the IPL, and he’ll hammer a 35-ball century against title-winning teams boasting experienced bowlers. Put him in England, Australia or South Africa, Sooryavanshi will knock it out of the park too. In his year-long career in top-flight cricket, Sooryavanshi’s share of success outweighs the failures, and if the previous 365 days were anything to go by, the IPL 2026 is just the starting point for the Indian teenage sensation and what he’s destined to achieve.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi lit up Guwahati last night (REUTERS)

Former England captain Michael Vaughan wants Vaibhav Sooryavanshi fast-tracked into the senior India men's team. Following the 15-year-old's 17-ball 52 against the Chennai Super Kings in the third match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, Vaughan was so impressed that he felt Sooryavanshi stole the limelight from his senior opening partner, Yashasvi Jaiswal. The last 12 months have been remarkable for the left-handed batter, who plundered runs without breaking much sweat. Sooryavanshi created ripples even outside the IPL, hammering centuries in England, Australia and South Africa while playing for India's Under-19 team. He single-handedly won India the U19 World Cup after smashing 175 runs in the final against England, off just 80 balls with 15 sixes and as many fours.

When Sooryavanshi announced his arrival in the IPL, the infamous second-season syndrome was a term often applied to the youngster. However, once the youngster took strike against Chennai Super Kings last evening in Guwahati and tonked the second ball for a six, all concerns were laid to rest. Sooryavanshi lived up to the expectations, bludgeoning a 15-ball fifty.

Vaughan is convinced Sooryavanshi is ready for the next step. At best, even if Sooryavanshi can't make it to the playing XI for the upcoming England white-ball tour, he should be named in the squad for the three T20Is, feels the former England batter, believing Sooryavanshi will gain the experience of being with seniors and what it's like being part of the Indian team.

“When will he make his Indian debut? And I'm just looking, and I know we're probably getting ahead of ourselves. It's only the first innings of the IPL, but there's a white-ball tour to England in a few months' time. And if I was Indian cricket, I would get him on that tour. Not necessarily, he's going to get into players that are in the team at the moment, but the one thing that he's going to need is he's going to need to be brought into the Indian team and the kind of surroundings of what Indian cricket is. Just bring him in, and if he plays one or two games, fantastic, but get him on a tour. Is he allowed to go on tours as a 15-year-old?” Vaughan said on Cricbuzz.

“I'd be giving him a little bit of experience with that Indian team. Not necessarily, as I said, jumping straight into the side, but just having him around. He's good enough to play. I do not doubt that,” he added.

‘Outshining Jaiswal’

Against CSK, which RR won by eight wickets, Sooryavansh shared an opening partnership of 75 runs with Jaiswal, with the former doing the bulk of the scoring. The range of shots forced Vaughan to conclude that Sooryavanshi's batting was a cut above Jaiswal, who has the experience of playing 28 Tests, four ODIs and 23 T20Is for India.

While Sooryavanshi hit 52 runs off 17 balls, Jaiswal remained unbeaten on 38 off 36. Jaiswal ensured the Royals didn't suffer any hiccups and cruised over the line in the chase of 128.

“When you think he's batting with someone at the other end, who I have in the last few years, he's right up there with the best, in terms of all format players. Yashasvi Jaiswal, I think he's a wonderful player. And I'm not saying he made Jaiswal look mediocre tonight, but there was a gulf in kind of fearlessness. You could see Jaiswal looking at the ball, just trying to play. This kid's just looking at the ball to launch it into the stands. He just has remarkable freedom,” said Vaughan.

“The two innings were a contrast. You had Sooryavanshi, who just went pure modern sixes. And I respected Jaiswal, because I don't think he was seeing it as well as he could see it. So he didn't just give it away. His strike rate wasn't huge, but he's had a little bit of time in the middle,” he added.

After the match, Sooryavanshi revealed that it was Jaiswal who told him to keep going for sixes, as he was timing the ball really well, and not bother about taking singles or doubles.