Former India cricketers have urged national selectors to take note of teenage batter Vaibhav Suryavanshi's incredible form and expedite his move up to senior international cricket after his latest blazing effort.
The young opener, who just turned 15, continued his sensational form as he cracked a 15-ball half-century to help Rajasthan Royals storm to an eight-wicket victory against Chennai Super Kings.
Suryavanshi grabbed headlines last season as he hit the first ball he faced in the IPL for a six before smashing a 35-ball century against Gujarat Titans in another game.
Any fears that that run was a flash in the pan were soon extinguished as the left-handed opener made runs at all age group levels, including a player-of-the-tournament effort during India's Under-19 World Cup victory earlier this year.
On Monday, the baby-faced batter smashed five sixes as he made a mockery of the 129-run target on a tough Guwahati pitch where all batters struggled to score at a run a ball. The Royals chased down the target inside 13 overs, all thanks to Suryavanshi who finished on 52 off 17 balls.
Now, former India players such as Mohammad Kaif and Piyush Chawla believe there is no point waiting for Suryavanshi to develop any further, insisting now is the time to test him at the highest level.
“Last season I thought Vaibhav Suryavanshi was getting hyped way too early,” former India batter Kaif wrote on X.
“An old-school cricketer, I believe there should be no haste in fast-tracking young players. But a year later, I think he is ready to graduate to the next level. The 15-year-old boy can entertain and play match-winning knocks.”
Former India spinner Chawla had similar views.
“If he plays like that, would love to see him fast-tracked,” Chawla, who himself made his international debut at the age of 17, told ESPNcricinfo website.
“Over the last year, in Under-19, domestic … whatever he has played, he went there and he scored hundreds. And it's not only hundreds, he scored big hundreds.”
Former middle order batter Ambati Rayudu also believes the time is right to push Suryavanshi to the highest level. India will be starting a new cycle having defended their T20 World Cup title recently.
“He looks a cut above a lot of youngsters in the country, and he's a talent that will definitely do wonders for Indian cricket. I don't know when, but definitely in the future,” Rayudu told ESPNcricinfo.
Rayudu, however, felt breaking into the Indian T20 squad will not be easy.
“Our Indian team is a world champion team. It's won the T20 World Cup. So to replace somebody in that side is not easy,” Rayudu said.
“To me, there are a few players ahead of him at the moment, because you tend to pick and build your teams ahead of the next ICC competition.”
However, Suryavanshi will not be the youngest player to make his international debut, if it happens this year. That record belongs to Meet Bhavsar, who was 14 years and 211 days old when he made his international debut for Kuwait against the Maldives in 2019.
Before that, Pakistan's Hasan Raza was the youngest international debutant. Raza was just 14 years and 227 days when he played a Test against Zimbabwe in 1996.
