former india captain Dilip Vengesarkar Backing teen star Vaibhav Sooryavanshi enjoys bright international future but believes youngsters should start from Sachin TendulkarHis discipline, focus and mental strength as he prepares for the biggest stages.15-year-old Sooryavanshi is on the verge of creating history in India’s T20I series against Ireland. If he makes his international debut in the coming weeks, the left-handed batsman will become the youngest player to represent India in men’s cricket, surpassing Tendulkar’s long-standing record. The batting icon made his Test debut against Pakistan in 1989 when Sooryavanshi was just 16 and expected to achieve the milestone a year ago.The teenager raised expectations when he made his debut in the opening T20I in Belfast on Friday. However, the head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Shreyas Iyer T20 World Cup winning opening combination retained Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson, leaving Sooryavanshi on the bench.The comparisons with Tendulkar have become more intense ever since Sooryavanshi’s stellar performance in IPL 2026, in which he scored over 700 runs rajasthan royals. While acknowledging the excitement of the youngster, Vengersarkar urged him to follow the qualities that made Tendulkar a legend of the sport.Vengsarkar told PTI: “When I watch Sachin Tendulkar play, he looks mentally mature for his age. He has performed very well in the inter-school tournament in Mumbai and has scored consistently in club cricket besides club cricket.”“He is mentally ready to play cricket at the next level, so that’s how we selected him. He is very disciplined, passionate and focused, which is a great example for youngsters like Vaibhav to follow,” he added.While Soriyansh is still awaiting his international debut, Vengsarkar believes it is only a matter of time before the teenager gets his chance and hopes he makes the most of it.“I believe he’s going to get this opportunity and when he gets it, he’s going to grab it with both hands because he’s such a good player. He’s unbelievable,” Vengersaka said.“He has huge potential. Some of his shots are unreal. His batting technique is completely different. He can clear the ground with his swing and hand-eye coordination. In the T20 format, his performance has been outstanding,” he added.When asked whether Sooryavanshi has the qualities to be a successful Test cricketer, Vengsarkar chose to remain cautious, pointing out that the youngster will be judged largely on his performance in the shortest format.“It’s hard to say because he is currently in the T20 format. I haven’t seen him bat in the longer formats,” he said.“But I believe that once selected, he will perform well in this area. We will have to wait and see how he performs in longer games, which is very important,” added Vengersaka.
