NEW DELHI: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s journey in white-ball cricket has moved at remarkable speed. At just 15, the left-handed batter has already represented India and made his presence felt at the international level.Sooryavanshi ended the IPL 2026 season as Rajasthan Royals‘ highest run-scorer with 776 runs. He then produced another explosive performance, smashing 94 off 29 balls against Sri Lanka ‘A’ in the List A tri-series final in Colombo.He made his senior India debut against England in July and followed it up with an impressive tour of Zimbabwe. Sooryavanshi finished the series with 151 runs, the most by any batter, and was named Player of the Series.He has scored 193 runs in six T20I innings at a strike rate of 189.21.However, his progress in red-ball cricket has been slower. Sooryavanshi has played eight first-class matches and averages 17.25. He is now playing for East Zone in the Duleep Trophy as he looks to gain more experience in the longer format.
‘I’m not sure about that’
Former India head coach Rahul Dravid, who worked with Sooryavanshi at Rajasthan Royals, believes the teenager has the talent to succeed in Test cricket. But he feels there is one major hurdle – finding enough time to play domestic red-ball cricket.“With Vaibhav, you’ve got to be patient. He’s only 15 years old, and from what I’ve seen of the kid, I have no doubt that, given the opportunity to practice and play domestic cricket and a couple of seasons of red-ball cricket, he will be able to hold his own in a Test match team. Whether he’ll be able to break into the XI with the guys already performing, that’s a different story and a tricky one,” Dravid told JioHotstar.Dravid’s concern is not about Sooryavanshi’s ability. Instead, he is worried about whether the teenager will get enough opportunities because of his growing international commitments.“Whether he’ll have the time to play two full seasons of domestic cricket because he’ll be so busy playing for India in the white-ball format, I’m not sure about that. So skill-wise, I think there is no problem; whether he will be able to do it because of schedules might be a bit more tricky.”
Eight runs with the bat, two wickets with the ball
Sooryavanshi had a quiet outing with the bat in East Zone’s Duleep Trophy quarter-final against North East Zone. The 15-year-old scored eight runs from six deliveries before Bishworjit Konthoujam dismissed him.He quickly made up for it with the ball.The East Zone vice-captain picked up two wickets in just four deliveries, showing that he could contribute even when things did not go his way with the bat.Sooryavanshi picked up his third first-class wicket with the second delivery of the 28th over. He bowled a three-quarter-length delivery outside off stump, prompting Kishan Lyngdoh to come down the track and attack. Lyngdoh tried to hit the ball hard but failed to keep his shape and produced a leading edge towards cover. Denish Das, who was fielding as a substitute, completed the catch.Three deliveries later, Sooryavanshi struck again. This time, he bowled a good-length delivery around off stump to Imliwati Lemtur. The batter tried to defend from the crease but only managed a thin outside edge. Ishan Kishan reacted quickly behind the stumps and completed the catch.