Sooryavanshi made his historic India debut during the T20I series against England last month.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi made his historic India debut in a T20I match against England at Old Trafford last month. The young prodigy failed to make a mark in his maiden series, amassing 42 runs in three innings before being benched for the final game.
While Sooryavanshi delivered Player-of-the-Series performance in the subsequent T20I tour of Zimbabwe, his failure against the English pacers continues to be a topic of debate.
Sooryavanshi earned his senior India call-up 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.
However, he failed to carry his sensational form into international cricket. Considering the lukewarm start to his international career and below-par numbers in first-class cricket, critics have raised doubts regarding the teenager’s Test aspirations.
Amid the chatter, Australian legend Steve Waugh has backed Vaibhav Sooryavanshi to represent India in red-ball format.
"He's obviously a freakish talent, and he will be good enough to play Test cricket. I've no doubt about that. The question is if India are prepared to give him an opportunity so early. There's nothing to say that he doesn't score a century in his first Test match. He has that sort of talent, but it'll be different," Waugh said on Star Sports.
While Sooryavanshi has taken the cricketing world by storm with his white-ball exploits, he is yet to leave a mark in the red-ball format. The 15-year-old averages an abysmal 16.53 in first-class cricket after 9 matches and was dismissed for only 8 runs off 6 balls in the recent Duleep Trophy appearance for East Zone against North East Zone.
"There will be different challenges for him in Test cricket. Bowlers have more scope to do things differently. I would like to see him have more first-class experience under his belt. You don't want to throw him into Test cricket without a lot of three- or four-day cricket experience," Waugh remarked.
Sooryavanshi will get another match to prove his mettle in red-ball cricket when East Zone face Central Zone in the Duleep Trophy semifinal, starting August 30.