Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has already broken IPL and international cricket records – now he faces his next big test: his first five-day game

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (PTI photo) NEW DELHI: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has barely absorbed one milestone before another arrives.At 15, the teenage sensation has already played on the biggest domestic stage, broken records in the IPL, made his international debut, played in the Under-19 World Cup and made his mark across T20, List A and first-class cricket. On Sunday, he will add another milestone to an extraordinary early career — playing his first five-day first-class match.Sooryavanshi will take the field for the East Zone against the South Zone in the Duleep Trophy final at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, with the 15-year-old named vice-captain under Ishan Kishan.It’s another challenge in a career that has been defined by the teenager repeatedly stepping into unfamiliar territory and finding a way to make an impact.For all his first-class experience, Sooryavanshi has played only four one-day matches so far, be it for Bihar in the Ranji Trophy, India Under-19 or East Zone. The final of the Duleep Trophy will thus represent his first experience of a five-day representative first-class match.And East Zone expects him to play a significant role at the top of the order.

Another format, another test for Sooryavanshi

The cub’s ability to adapt has already been repeatedly tested this year.His first-class numbers remain modest compared to the amazing numbers he achieved in white-ball cricket — 347 runs from 10 matches, including two half-centuries. But his Duleep Trophy semi-final performance against Central Zone offered an encouraging glimpse of what he can produce in the longer format.Sooryavanshi smashed 92 off 81 balls in the first innings before contributing a crucial 40 in the chase as East Zone defeated Central Zone by four wickets to reach their first Duleep Trophy final since 2012-13.His 92 also made him the youngest player to score a half-century in Duleep Trophy history at the age of 15 years and 157 days, breaking a record that had stood for 57 years.Ishan Kishan, who will lead East Zone in the final, believes the teenager is mature enough to handle the demands of another new challenge.“I feel Vaibhav is very smart for a 15-year-old boy. He knows what he’s doing, he’s been in that situation and I’ve also heard him talking to other players. So there’s no question whether he’s played 4 days or 3 days of cricket earlier and this is a 5-day game, I think that’s enough to wear him out,” Kishan told the press launch on Saturday.Kishan was also impressed by the youngster’s contribution in the semi-finals.“I think he is doing a great job so far. He played a very crucial role in the previous game where the wicket was not so good but he played those extra shots which helped us get the opening partnership.”“It was very important when we were chasing him. So he’s doing everything right so far and if there’s anything I think we’re always there to help him,” he added.

From a 14-year-old IPL centurion to India’s youngest international

The extent of Sooryavanshi’s rise is clearer when his journey in the last two seasons is considered.At the age of 13, he became the youngest player to get an IPL contract when Rajasthan Royals bought him for Rs 1.1 million ahead of IPL 2025. A year later, at the age of 14, he became the youngest centurion in men’s T20 cricket when he smashed 101 off 38 balls against Gujarat Titans. He finished that season with 252 runs from seven matches at a strike rate of 206.55.Then came IPL 2026 where the teenager took his game to another level.Sooryavanshi scored 776 runs in 16 matches at a staggering strike rate of 237.30, with a century and five fifties. His 72 sixes broke the record for most sixes in a single IPL season while collecting the Orange Cap and MVP awards.He subsequently became India’s youngest men’s international debutant and made an immediate impact in the T20I series against Zimbabwe, scoring 151 runs in three matches and winning the Player of the Series award. His six T20I appearances have already yielded 193 runs at a strike rate of 189.21.His List A numbers are equally striking: 564 runs in 13 matches, including 190, at an average of 43.38 and a strike rate of 176.80.Meanwhile, he scored 439 runs in the Under-19 World Cup and was named player of the tournament.

Now comes the five-day test: the final of the Duleep Trophy

The numbers suggest that Sooryavanshi still has a lot to learn in the red ball game. But that’s what makes Sunday’s milestone significant. At an age when most cricketers are still finding their way into age-group cricket, he is already being asked to solve a new problem.So far, Sooryavanshi has responded to almost every challenge with the same fearless approach that has made him one of the most talked about young cricketers in the world.The Duleep Trophy final offers another test – not of how many records he can break, but how he can adapt when the game demands patience, focus and a willingness to bat for five days.At 15, there is no urgency to have all the answers.But Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is about to ask another question. And judging by what he’s done so far, the next challenge probably won’t daunt him.