Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in action during IPL 2026© BCCI
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi once again made a strong case for a national team call-up as the 15-year-old slammed a fiery half-century during the IPL 2026 match between Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings on Monday. The young sensation is now eligible for selection after turning 15 last week and many experts as well as fans have urged the BCCI to consider him. However, former Indian cricket team batter Ambati Rayudu is not in favour of the suggestion. Rayudu believes that although Vaibhav is extremely talented, there are more deserving of a national team call-up than the youngster.
“I think definitely the T20 format [for his maiden call-up]. If he has a very good IPL and if he shows that he has the ability to keep calm under pressure… because, don’t forget, our Indian team is a world champion team. It’s won the T20 World Cup. So to replace somebody in that side is not easy. To me, there are a few players ahead of him at the moment, because you tend to pick and build your teams ahead of the next ICC competition,” Rayudu said on ESPNCricinfo.
“There are enough cricketers who have been consistently doing well. So he is definitely in the race if I was the selector. But at the moment, there are a lot of guys who have been consistent for the last two or three years.”
Rayudu made it clear that Vaibhav looks ‘a cut above’ a lot of youngsters before praising the Rajasthan Royals management for identifying and enriching his talent.
“He looks a cut above a lot of youngsters in the country, and he’s a talent that will definitely do wonders for Indian cricket. I don’t know when, but definitely in the future. The way he has been batting and the freedom with which he has been batting, it’s a great testament to the fact that [RRs] management has been doing a wonderful job, not complicating things for him. And his shot-making – the ease with which he’s been taking on bowlers is unbelievable at this age,” added Rayudu.