The rise of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has been one of the biggest topics in Indian cricket over the past few months. He has scored in age group cricket, domestic cricket, India A matches and IPL. Now the 15-year-old is on the cusp of another milestone — becoming India’s youngest international cricketer.India are expected to give Sooryavanshi her debut in the first T20I against Ireland in Belfast on Friday. He will be 15 years and 91 days old when he plays, making him younger than Sachin Tendulkar he was when he made his debut against Pakistan in 1989 at the age of 16 years and 205 days. Sooryavanshi’s much-anticipated debut comes after an outstanding IPL season with Rajasthan Royals. He finished as the tournament’s top scorer, scoring 776 runs in 16 innings at a strike rate of 237.30.Just days before joining the senior Indian team, 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 milestone in just 11 balls.As the excitement around the youngster continues to grow, former India coach and Rajasthan Royals head coach Rahul Dravid shared his thoughts on the teenager.Speaking to the BBC, Dravid described Sooryavanshi as “a truly unique talent”.“I think it’s an amazing combination of being able to pick up the speed of a bowler and then cricketing smarts, fearlessness. It’s a whole combination of things,” Dravid said.Dravid added, “I don’t think there’s a recipe for making Sooryavanshi, I don’t think you can take any kid and say, do this, and they’ll become so good. There are certain things they’re just gifted at.”Dravid, however, pointed out that Sooryavanshi’s success was not just a result of 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 also worked really hard, so it’s not just a gift. He hit a lot of balls from a young age. I saw that in Rajasthan,”Dravid also stressed the importance of carefully managing the teenager’s development early in his international career.“I just hope that he’s been supported and that it’s helped him on his way to really reach that potential.”He added: “You have to protect someone like him but it’s always going to be that fine line because sometimes you have to let someone fly.”
