Teenage batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has become the toast of the nation for his record-breaking performances this year.

Sooryavanshi earned the Player-of-the-Tournament award at the start of the year, helping India clinch their record-extending sixth ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup title. The 15-year-old carried his stunning form into the IPL 2026.

Playing for Rajasthan Royals (RR), Sooryavanshi won the Orange Cap and was named the Most Valuable Player for scoring 776 runs in 16 innings at a staggering strike rate of 237.30, including one hundred, five half-centuries and a record 72 sixes in an IPL season.

Subsequently, the southpaw made history by becoming the youngest player ever selected to India's senior squad, surpassing Sachin Tendulkar's 36-year-old record. He is currently travelling with the Indian team on the tour of UK.

While Sooryavanshi didn’t get a chance in the two-T20I series against Ireland, he was also ignored for the series for the series opener against England. It remains to be seen if the young prodigy receives debut India cap in the remaining four T20Is against the Three Lions.

Amid the hype around Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, former India skipper Kapil Dev also showered rich praise on the wonder kid from Bihar, comparing his talent to that of Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli.

However, Kapil urged fans to give Sooryavanshi time to develop instead of burdening him with expectations.

"I haven't watched him that much, just bits and pieces. From whatever I've seen, he's a huge talent, without any doubt. But I think people are talking too much about him at the moment. Give him some time. Don't build him up so much. At such a young age, he probably doesn't even fully understand himself or realise what he is capable of," Kapil said while speaking to Sports Tak.

"But if you're talking purely about talent, then yes, he's as good as Sachin and Virat Kohli. That's the level of talent you can see in him, but in T20 cricket. In the other formats, he still has to prove himself. The day he plays Test cricket, will he be able to bat through a five-over maiden? That's the question," he added.

Kapil acknowledged Vaibhav’s phenomenal T20 talent, but the legendary all-rounder cautioned that true greatness requires proving oneself in the longer, more demanding red-ball formats.

"Someone like Virender Sehwag may not think that way, but that's how cricket works. As far as T20 cricket is concerned, I think he's been fabulous. To make such an impact at such a young age, you won't find even one per cent of people in the world capable of doing that," Kapil remarked.

At 15 years and over 90 days old, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is on the verge of shattering Sachin Tendulkar’s record to become the youngest debutant in men’s cricket for India. Tendulkar was 16 years and 205 days when he made his international debut against Pakistan in 1989.

If Sooryavanshi features in the five-T20I series against England at some point, he would become the youngest debutant ever for India across both men's and women's cricket. The record is currently held by Shafali Verma, whose maiden appearance for India came at the age of 15 years and 239 days.