Former South African skipper AB de Villiers reacted after Vaibhav Sooryavanshi made his much-awaited T20I debut against England in the second T20I against England at Old Trafford, Manchester on Saturday.
Sooryavanshi became the youngest Indian player to make his International debut at 15 yearrs and 99 days after Sachin Tendulkar. However, Sooryavanshi was dismissed after scoring 14 runs off 10 balls in his maiden T20I appearance.
AB said he would have given a chance to the youngster in the two T20Is against Ireland and he would be keen to note the path which the prodigy batter will now follow.
“Congratulations, young man, on making your debut and, on top of that, becoming the youngest-ever player to represent India. I think he was 15 years and 99 days old when he made his debut. That’s ridiculous. It’s funny for me to say, but it’s about time. I would have played him against Ireland already, just to give him a taste of international cricket, get him onto the scene and build that experience as soon as possible,” de Villiers said on his YouTube channel.
“Now, the road ahead for Vaibhav is going to be fascinating. For a lot of youngsters growing up, the ultimate goal is to play for your country. So where does he go from here at the age of 15? Has he reached his goal now? Is he going to be a flash in the pan, or does he want to become truly great and be remembered in cricket history alongside names like Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Ricky Ponting, Jacques Kallis, Sir Garfield Sobers and Viv Richards? Does he want to be mentioned among those names, or simply be remembered as the youngest player ever to play for India?”
“It’s going to be interesting to see how his journey evolves. I’m a big fan. I think the potential is monumental, as long as he can find a blueprint that he can stick to — something to always fall back on.”
The former RCB batter reckons Sooryavanshi will face obstacles and difficult moments when he starts playing all three formats for India.
“I believe ODIs will come after the T20Is, and hopefully Test cricket as well. If that’s the road ahead for him across all three formats, there will be tricky times. There will be obstacles and difficult moments. I’ve said this so many times before, and I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but he’s going to need guidance and mentorship if he’s going to succeed across all three formats.”
“But let’s not jump the gun. Let’s celebrate him for now. What a phenomenal talent. I’m hoping he gets some runs. He only scored 14 in that first T20I against England. For what it’s worth, he looked at home,” he added.
Sooryavanshi was dismissed after scoring 13 runs in the third T20I against the hosts. The left-hander had received his maiden T20I call-up after scoring 776 runs in 16 matches of IPL 2026 at a blistering strike rate of 237.30.
The fourth T20I between England and India will be played at Bristol, County Ground on Thursday.
