Rajasthan Royals (RR) opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi took the cricketing world by storm with his dazzling exploits in the IPL 2026. He compiled 776 runs in 16 matches at an astonishing strike rate of 237.30.
His campaign featured one hundred and an all-time record of 72 sixes. The 15-year-old made IPL history by sweeping five major individual awards, including the Orange Cap and Most Valuable Player (MVP).
Sooryavanshi’s breakout IPL season has drawn comparisons to generational talents like Sachin Tendulkar, and calls for his inclusion in the Indian T20I squad have also grown louder.
Former England captain Nasser Hussain has also joined the bandwagon, backing the young prodigy to don the India colours sooner rather than later.
“Such an easy answer to give to that is that yes, he has to play. I didn't watch too much of the IPL to be honest, but I watched clips of Sooryavanshi and what an incredible talent,” Hussain said on the latest edition of The ICC Review with Sanjana Ganesan.
“One of my first games for England was in the Nehru Cup, that's how long ago it was, and this young lad strode out with pads on that I'd never seen before, and his name was Sachin Tendulkar,” he recalled.
“And I was in complete awe and I've noticed Sachin putting out some tweets about Sooryavanshi's bat swing and if you can impress Sachin Tendulkar and if you can impress Virat Kohli and the rest, he's impressed everyone. What an unbelievable talent,” he added.
While Hussain acknowledged India’s envious list of batting talents at the top of the order, he believes someone as special as Sooryavanshi cannot be overlooked.
“So anywhere else in the world you would say get him in. But usually at the toss you just have to name 11 players. In international cricket, who do you leave out for him?
“India have a list of batters they could play and should play, but in the end, someone makes such a case, such a consistent case, and such an incredible case for being picked. In the end, you have to say, I don't care who we're leaving out, this lad has to play,” Hussain remarked.
The former England cricketer-turned-commentator claimed that while Sooryavanshi is yet to fully showcase his skills outside India and in unfamiliar conditions, he believes the youngster has everything in his arsenal to succeed at the highest level, highlighting his performances at the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2026 in Zimbabwe.
“And I'm getting towards that stage where you say this lad has to play because there are other challenges doing it away from home.
“Doing it against a ball that's moving around, having an eventual downturn in form, which he's not had yet, finding a weakness, maybe the short ball, who knows?
“But he needs to get through all of that before you get to a world event and he's going to be a star. We saw it in the U19 World Cup. We saw what he did to England in the U19 World Cup, to everyone, but England in particular. My word, this lad is a talent and he has to play,” Hussain stated.
