Former Indian batter Sanjay Manjrekar reckons Vaibhav Sooryavanshi can be a 50-over phenomenon amid the ongoing India A tri-series against Sri Lanka A and Afghanistan A. Sooryavanshi scored a quickfire knock while playing for India A against Afghanistan A at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium, Dambulla on Thursday.

The youngster scored an impressive knock of 44 runs off just 22 balls to give a quick start to his team. The left-hander smashed nine fours in his blistering innings. 

Recently, Sooryavanshi ended the IPL 2026 season with 776 runs in 16 matches at an average of 48.50 and a blistering strike rate of 237.30. He ended as the leading run-getter in the tournament and thus bagged the Orange Cap. Along with it, he was awarded the MVP of the tournament, Super Striker of the Season, Emerging Player of the season, and also bagged the award for the most sixes (72) in the season.

Ego, he received his maiden T20I call-up for the UK tour, where India will play two T20Is against Ireland and five T20Is against England.

“India A is playing a tri-series in Sri Lanka, and I am watching Vaibhav Suryavanshi quite closely. Whatever name he has made till now, it has been in the IPL and in T20Is, and that is not the right environment to diagnose a player. I know that this is just an ‘A’ series, but the pitches are not flat here, like it is in the IPL. But I was able to see some depth in Suryavanshi’s batting,” Sanjay Manjrekar said on his social media handle.

“Now I am a bit excited after seeing his batting. If you are thinking that he is just a T20 slogger, then you are wrong. I saw him defend quite well with a straight bat, I have seen him time the ball well. I know the sample size is small, but I think he can be a 50-over phenomenon as well,” he added.

Sooryavanshi would look to continue his rich form.