"Does he really want to?": AB de Villiers doubts Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's desire to play red-ball cricket

Sooryavanshi recently earned his maiden T20I call-up on the back of a record-breaking IPL 2026 campaign.

Teenage batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi on Saturday (June 6) made history by earning his maiden senior national call-up to India's T20I squad for the upcoming tours of Ireland and England, as well as for the 2026 Asian Games.

At 15 years and 71 days old, Sooryavanshi shattered Sachin Tendulkar's 36-year-old record to become the youngest-ever player selected to a senior Indian squad.

His selection comes directly on the back of a record-breaking IPL 2026 campaign where he finished as the Most Valuable Player and Orange Cap winner for the Rajasthan Royals (RR), hammering 776 runs at a staggering strike rate of 237.30. Along the way, he dominated high-profile bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah, Pat Cummins, and Josh Hazlewood.

Although Sooryavanshi has reiterated his ambition to excel across all three formats for India, South African legend AB de Villiers has some reservations about his red-ball game.

"He's a wonderful talent. The red-ball thing I absolutely cannot answer. I think he can if he wants to, but there's your answer, and there's the big question as well: Does he really want to? Time will tell. There's no doubt he's got the talent and ability to do so. It won't always be easy, and I've mentioned that a few times before," de Villiers said during an interview with NDTV.

"If he decides to play red-ball cricket, there will be some challenges, but he's got the skill and the ability to work through that. In my opinion, I hope he does try and play, but I doubt it. We'll see," he added.

During the IPL 2026, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi had expressed his desire to play Test cricket for India, sooner rather than later.

"Everyone thinks I try to hit every ball after seeing my game," Sooryavanshi had said while speaking on JioHotstar. "But, this is T20, and my coaches give me a free-hand to go all out. I also feel that if the ball is there to be hit, I go for it."

"I want to play Test cricket," he declared. "My father has always spoken about Test cricket being the real cricket. I have played a lot of red-ball cricket. But, so far, I have not got a lot of opportunities in red-ball cricket. I have played a few Ranji Trophy matches. But, I want to play more red-ball cricket and become better at that."