Follow Us14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi made headlines first when he was picked by the Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 auction for INR 1.1 crore. Then, he also became the youngest T20 centurion, slamming a 35-ball century against the Gujarat Titans (GT) in his maiden season, in which he finished with 252 runs at a strike rate of 206.55.
He has also fared well in the youth Tests and ODIs, further showing that he could be ready for the big stage. As a result, Zubin Bharucha, RR's Director of High Performance, has called for Suryavanshi's elevation to the senior team, just as Sachin Tendulkar was at the age of 16 in 1989.
"He should be blooded into the senior team immediately, like Sachin was all those years ago," Bharucha told Times of India.
"They have to blood this guy immediately, boss, because he is in another zone only. At least send him on an India A tour. Send him to India A immediately. I'm telling you, this Australian attack that is here, bowling to India A guys, he would have got a double hundred."
Barucha further noted that the teenager showed no signs while coming up against Jofra Archer in the nets during IPL.
"He smoked Jofra Archer in the nets. Jofra Archer, when he bowls in the nets, he's a demon. He never bowls a warm-up ball when the batter is there. He absolutely charges in. And actually, Jofra Archer knocked off Steve Smith's head in a practice session we had before the Ashes. Smith was struggling against him. From that day onwards, he never went inside the net when Jofra was bowling," Bharucha said.
"When he was bowling to Vaibhav, I was scared, and this boy hit one shot on the back foot, and it went out of the stadium. All the coaching staff, even Jofra, were stunned."
Suryavanshi is yet to play for India A, but at the Under-19 level, he has 331 runs at 36.77 in Youth Tests, and in the 50-over format, he has 556 runs at a strike rate of 151.91 in 11 innings. In fact, he holds the record for the fastest century in Youth ODIs, getting to the landmark in just 52 deliveries against England earlier this year.