After much anticipation and a delay that seemed longer than it was, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi finally made his India debut on Saturday, becoming the youngest player to represent the country in international cricket when he took the field in the second T20I against England at Old Trafford in Manchester.A fifteen-year-old boy from Bihar’s Samastipur district broke the record he belonged to Sachin Tendulkar almost 37 years. Tendulkar made his debut in India at the age of 16 years and 205 days. Sooryavanshi did it at 15 years and 99 days.The similarities start and end with their ages.Between Tendulkar’s debut in Karachi and Sooryavanshi’s first appearance for India in Manchester lies the story of how Indian cricket – and the world around it – changed.READ ALSO: Bethell breaks Indian hearts on Sooryavanshi’s historic debut; England lead 1-0 Tendulkar arrived with a game built on defense and timing, shaped by Mumbai’s batting tradition. Sooryavanshi grew up in the T20 era, where attacking from the first ball is the norm and the expectation. The stage around them couldn’t be any different either.When Tendulkar made his debut against Pakistan in Karachi in November 1989, television viewers in India were treated to grainy images on television. Sooryavanshi’s every move was followed by high-definition cameras from the moment he landed in England.Tendulkar made his debut against an attack that featured Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Abdul Qadir.The world outside cricket was different too.The Berlin Wall was still standing. The Soviet Union still existed. Rajiv Gandhi was the Prime Minister of India and only stepped down after the Lok Sabha elections a few weeks later. Economic liberalization under Manmohan Singh was still more than a year away.Tendulkar belonged to the floppy disk era. Sooryavanshi belongs to the generation that grew up with artificial intelligence.Indian cricket has changed equally.When Tendulkar made his debut, India was still building its place in world cricket. Over the next three decades, the game became one of the biggest sports industries in the country, with Tendulkar at the center of that rise. Sooryavanshi enters the Indian team built in the years that followed.Not since Tendulkar has a teenage cricketer arrived with this level of attention. Ever since he landed in England, Sooryavanshi has been surrounded by fans seeking selfies.The biggest difference, however, is how fame works now.During Tendulkar’s debut, the internet was not a part of everyday life in India. Today, almost everyone carries a smartphone. Every moment is photographed, captured and instantly shared. The line between public person and public property has become thinner.Sooryavanshi’s journey in India has only just begun, but the path he is treading is very different from the one Tendulkar first set foot on in 1989.
