‘Fast-track him now’: Ex-India captain compares teenage sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi to Sachin Tendulkar | Cricket News
Former India opener Krishnamachari Srikkanth has strongly advocated for Vaibhav Suryavanshi to be pushed quickly into the senior Indian setup, comparing the teenager’s rise to the early days of Sachin Tendulkar. Srikkanth believes the selectors should show boldness and back rare talent early, rather than delaying opportunities for a player who has already shown maturity beyond his years.Srikkanth highlighted Suryavanshi’s swift journey through age-group cricket and his growing impact in domestic competitions. According to him, the youngster stands out for his calmness at the crease, sound technique and an evident desire to dominate attacks. Much like Tendulkar, who made his India debut at the age of 16, Suryavanshi has consistently taken on older and more experienced opponents, adapted rapidly to higher standards and delivered under pressure.
The teenage batter recently made headlines by becoming the youngest player to score a List A century. In a Vijay Hazare Trophy match, Suryavanshi produced a stunning 190 off just 84 balls. His innings was marked by fearless strokeplay and raw power as he smashed 15 sixes and brought up his hundred in only 36 deliveries, completely overwhelming the bowling attack and reinforcing the buzz around his rapid rise.Srikkanth has now doubled down on his support for Suryavanshi, urging the BCCI to act swiftly. He pointed to the batter’s string of big scores across formats and levels as clear evidence that the youngster is ready for a bigger challenge.“Vaibhav is scoring centuries everywhere, be it the IPL, U19, anywhere. You can say it is against Arunachal Pradesh but that is a different story. This boy has been hammering everybody across all kinds of matches. I had told last year also that they should fast-track him for the T20 World Cup. Maybe it is too late for that now, but they still fast-track him into the team. This boy has got tremendous potential. He should be fast-tracked and brought into the Indian team soon,” Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel Cheeky Cheeka.Suryavanshi’s numbers at the youth level further strengthen the argument. In 15 youth ODIs, he averages 51.13, with two hundreds and three fifties, striking at an impressive rate of 158.79.Addressing suggestions that the youngster should be given more time, Srikkanth dismissed the cautious approach. He reiterated that exceptional players deserve early faith, drawing a direct comparison with Tendulkar’s own rise.“People say let him play for some more time, let him do this, let him do that. Sachin also played at such a young age. Of course, he played for India after scoring hundreds at all levels, but the same thing can be done for this boy in white-ball cricket,” he added.
