‘The only thing stopping Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is his age’: Former England captain pays tribute to RR star

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (ANI Photo) The rise of teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is no longer just an Indian phenomenon. The 15-year-old’s extraordinary IPL 2026 campaign has caught the attention of the world and former England captain Michael Vaughan has revealed that even fans in the UK are tuning in to the young batter.Sooryavanshi’s fearless batting and remarkable consistency made him one of the biggest talking points of the tournament. As the hype surrounding the teenager continues to grow, talk of a potential India debut is getting louder. Vaughan believes the only reason the youngster has yet to break into the national team is his age.“Not just in India, I reckon it’s happening all over the world. I got word back home today that in the last couple of weeks the IPL in the UK hasn’t been watched as much as it used to be. But there’s one person everyone tunes in to and that’s this kid,” Vaughan said on Cricbuzz.“The moment he steps out to bat and gets going, people turn on their TV screens. Let’s be brutally honest. If he was 18, 19 or 20, he would have played for India by now. The only thing holding him back is his age,” he added.The former England captain went a step further and stated that Sooryavanshi has been an outstanding starter throughout the IPL season. While acknowledging India’s cautious approach in handling the teenagers, Vaughan insisted that the Rajasthan Royals batter already deserves a place in the T20I set-up.“If you’re picking the opening batting line-up from this IPL season, who has been the best opener in the competition so far? In my opinion, he’s a young lad. I understand what India are trying to do. They’re trying to protect him because he’s so young. But he warrants a place in the national team, especially in 20-over cricket.”“In 50-over cricket, you can argue that he still has a lot to learn because he hasn’t played a lot. But in T20 cricket, he is India’s best opening batsman at the moment. He should be in the national team. And the way he plays, he has clearly shown us why,” Vaughan said.What has made Sooryavanshi’s rise even more extraordinary is the aura he has already created at such a young age. Every time he comes out to bat, attention immediately shifts towards him. Vaughan compared the teenager’s growing influence to some of the sport’s greatest entertainers and suggested he could even surpass Chris Gayle in one aspect of batting dominance.“I don’t know how many balls he’s faced in comparison. I guarantee this young guy is a lot higher percentage than Chris Gayle. He’s a joy to watch. We sit in the green room and watch the game. Once he bats, everyone just goes. No one’s on the phone. You just watch every ball he faces,” Vaughan.Sooryavanshi has been the top scorer for Rajasthan Royals this season and is enjoying a remarkable campaign. In 13 innings, the teenager amassed 579 runs at an average of 44.53 and a staggering strike tally of over 236. His tally includes one century, three half-centuries and 53 sixes, the most by an Indian batter in a single IPL season.