MUMBAI: Rather than being influenced by the hype surrounding Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s IPL exploits, decision-makers in Indian cricket have adopted a cautious approach to grooming the gifted strokeplayer.
Being the highest run-getter (776 runs at a strike rate of 237.30) in the 2026 IPL has not got the teenager automatic selection in the playing XI. India coach Gautam Gambhir stuck to the 2026 T20 World Cup winning opening combination of Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson.
The next big assignment is the Asian Games, but the Rajasthan Royals batter has to wait for his chances.
Simultaneously, India’s think tank is also grooming him in red-ball cricket. How much he is valued is obvious from the fact that in the domestic season opener, the Duleep Trophy, he was made vice-captain of champions East Zone. Without being spectacular, the 15-year-old left-handed batter gave a good account of himself against quality bowling attacks, scoring 92 and 40 versus Central Zone and 44 and 8 against South Zone in the final.
No one doubts his T20 quality and whether he has the red-ball game is being watched closely. When he toured Sri Lanka earlier this year with India A for a one-day tri-series, Sri Lanka legend Arjuna Ranatunga’s advice for the teenager was also to focus on putting in the effort to be successful in Test cricket.
“My only advice is this boy should work on his technique properly, and if you play Test cricket, you will be recognised in a big way rather than in T20,” Ranatunga had told HT.
{{/usCountry}}“My only advice is this boy should work on his technique properly, and if you play Test cricket, you will be recognised in a big way rather than in T20,” Ranatunga had told HT.
{{/usCountry}}Sri Lanka’s 1996 World Cup-winning skipper didn’t assess his technique saying he had not seen enough of his batting. He just told him to emulate players like Virat Kohli. “The way Virat played all three formats, when you work on the technique, you can play all versions, I hope this kid will work on them. I hope he will sacrifice and focus on playing for India rather than the franchise money,” Ranatunga had said.
The upcoming Ranji season will be crucial for Sooryavanshi.
Due to his early start, he is being compared to Sachin Tendulkar. He is a different batter than the all-time batting great. Tendulkar made a name scoring big hundreds in school, club and state cricket before entering the international arena.
Sooryvanshi has made it big through T20 exploits. He is an unproven commodity in the longer format, a work in progress. He averages 23.47 in 11 First-Class games and has yet to score a hundred.
There are differing views on whether he is cut out for red-ball cricket. There’s not enough data to analyse that. The opener’s game is about putting pressure on the bowlers. In the longer format, they can also be required to play out a session in tough conditions.
Former India captain and chief selector, Dilip Vengsarkar, backs Sooryavanashi to crack the demands of all formats.
“I don’t understand why they make such an issue of white and red ball? He is playing so brilliantly in white ball, why can’t he play red-ball cricket, or pink-ball cricket for that matter? It is a matter of how you adjust, he is an excellent player with excellent skills also. I am sure he will do it,” said Vengsarkar.
“He is playing at the top level all the time so he is bound to keep improving.”
It’s about playing more balls than in the T20 format. In a 20-over game, 30 balls is enough. In red ball, Sooryavanshi must target 100 balls, says former India batter and Mumbai Ranji coach, Pravin Amre.
“He shouldn’t change his game, he has to play the way he plays. He is a special talent, with maturity he can be like Virender Sehwag. When he started, people doubted Sehwag, he is the one who got a triple century in Test matches,” said Amre, a former India batter.
“He has to focus on playing 100 balls, (and) not think about runs.
We played in an era when we had to play 300 balls to get a hundred. We worked with Shreyas Iyer to play 150 balls to get a hundred. Sooryavanshi has to think of playing 100 balls, he can get a hundred, even a double hundred. Playing 100 balls is important.”