Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s rise has been one of the biggest talking points in Indian cricket over the past few months. He has scored runs in age-group cricket, domestic cricket, India A matches and the IPL. Now, the 15-year-old is on the verge of another milestone — becoming India’s youngest international cricketer.India are expected to hand Sooryavanshi his debut in the first T20I against Ireland in Belfast on Friday. If he plays, he will be 15 years and 91 days old, making him younger than Sachin Tendulkar was when he made his international debut against Pakistan in 1989 at the age of 16 years and 205 days. Sooryavanshi’s expected debut comes after a remarkable IPL season with the Rajasthan Royals. He finished as the tournament’s highest run-scorer, making 776 runs in 16 innings at a strike rate of 237.30.Just days before joining the senior India squad, Sooryavanshi was in action for India A against Sri Lanka A, where he broke the record for the fastest half-century in List A cricket, reaching the landmark in only 11 balls.As excitement around the youngster continues to grow, former India coach and Rajasthan Royals head coach Rahul Dravid has shared his thoughts on the teenager.Speaking to BBC, Dravid described Sooryavanshi as “a really unique talent”“I think it’s an incredible combination of ability to pick up a bowler’s speed and then cricket smarts, fearlessness. It’s a whole combination of things,” Dravid said.Dravid added: “I don’t think there’s a recipe for making a Sooryavanshi, I don’t think you can take any kid and say, do this, and he will become that good. There are certain things they are just gifted with.”Dravid, however, pointed out that Sooryavanshi’s success is not only down to talent. He recalled working with him at Rajasthan Royals in 2025, when the youngster made his IPL debut at the age of 14.“But he’s worked very hard as well, so it’s not just a gift. From a young age, he’s hit a lot of balls. I saw that at Rajasthan,”Dravid also stressed the importance of managing the teenager’s development carefully as he begins his international career.“I just hope that he’s supported and helped along the journey to be able to actually achieve that potential.”He added, “You need to protect someone like him, but it’s always going to be that fine line because sometimes you need to let somebody fly.”
