Former South African cricketer AB de Villiers has urged Indian teenage batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi not to limit himself to T20 cricket despite its explosive rise in the format. The 15-year-old has emerged as one of the standout players of the ongoing Indian Premier League season with fearless stroke play and remarkable consistency against some of the world’s best bowlers.
The debate over Sooryavanshi’s future has intensified as to how he will use his T20 fuel calls for an early debut in India, though his numbers in red balls remain modest.
“I don’t know how he will last to be honest. At his age the talent is unbelievable. But I would like to see him in other formats,” De Villiers said on the Stuart Broad-hosted ‘For The Love of Cricket’ podcast. “He doesn’t know what’s in store for him in Test cricket yet. A lot of things will change unless someone who’s a really good manager tells him to be a T20 specialist for the rest of his life. If that’s all he plays, it’s going to be a very long and successful career.”
However, the former South African batsman said he was hopeful Sooryavanshi would take on a tougher challenge longer formats.
“If he starts nibbling on ODIs and especially Test cricket, he will discover a whole different area of his cricket mentally and physically,” De Villiers said. “He certainly has the talent to overcome any obstacles that may come his way. But it’s not going to be an easy ride and it’s going to be a rocky road. I hope he follows that path and tries to play Test cricket for his country.”
JUST A STAR WITH A WHITE BALL?
Sooryavanshi has dazzled in the IPL this season, scoring 440 runs in 11 innings at an average of 40 and a strike tally of over 236, including two hundreds and two fifties. His aggressive attack on elite pacers like Jasprit Bumrah, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Bhuvneshwar Kumar has made him one of the most talked about young players in world cricket. Still his first-class record remains a work in progress, with 207 runs in eight matches at an average of 17.25.
The Bihar batter has already built an outstanding reputation in junior and limited overs cricket. In this year’s U19 World Cup, Sooryavanshi finished as the tournament’s second-highest run-scorer with 439 runs in seven matches at an average of 62.71 and a strike rate close to 170.
He also rewrote the record books by smashing 30 sixes in the tournament, the most in U19 World Cup history, eclipsing the previous mark held by Dewald Brevis. In U19 ODIs, Sooryavanshi is already India’s leading run-scorer with 1,412 runs in 25 innings at an average of over 56 and a strike rate of over 165.
The teenager’s dominance extends to senior white-ball cricket. In 28 T20 matches, he scored 1,105 runs at an average of 40.92 and a staggering strike rate of 215.39, while also making a strong impression in List-A cricket with 353 runs in eight innings, including a top score of 190.
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Published on:
13 May 2026 16:26 IST
