Former Indian opening batter and commentator Virender Sehwag has asserted that the teen batting prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s thinking of hitting right from the first ball is somewhat similar to his.
During a discussion at the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s annual session in New Delhi, Sehwag expressed his views on the 15-year-old opening batter. He went on to share his opinion when asked if age matters in playing international cricket.
“Sooryavanshi is in his prime, and his thinking is somewhat similar to mine, that of hitting right from the first ball. Now, it is about when he gets the opportunity and how many matches he plays for India,” Sehwag said.
“Look, if you are playing in an age-category, it makes sense – if it’s Under-19, your age should be under 19. But once you play the IPL or play for India, age doesn’t matter. ‘A 38- or 40-year-old (Virat) Kohli is playing, and a 15-year-old (Vaibhav) Sooryavanshi is also playing. Then, performance matters,” he added.
Sooryavanshi, who received his senior T20I cap against England on July 4, 2026, at age 15, eclipsed Sachin Tendulkar’s long-standing men’s record. He has featured in eight T20Is and has scored 246 runs at an average of 30.75 and a strike rate of 186.36, with two half-centuries.
The teen batter is currently part of India’s T20I squad for the ongoing five-match series against the West Indies. Sooryavanshi dominated the IPL 2026 season by topping the tournament’s run-scoring charts with 776 runs at a mind-boggling 237.30 strike rate, blasting a record 72 sixes, the most by any batter in a season.
India’s T20I squad vs WI: Shreyas Iyer [C], Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan [WK], Sanju Samson [WK], Tilak Varma [VC], Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav, Mayank Yadav, Naman Dhir
