Former India spinner Piyush Chawla has said that he would like to see teenage batter Vaibhav Sooryavanshi being fast-tracked, as he has already scored big across various age groups. Chawla felt that since the left-hander was already facing top-class bowling in the IPL, he may not have as big an issue playing them on the international stage, whenever he gets the chance. The 15-year-old announced himself in IPL 2026 with a 17-ball 52 that had four fours and five sixes to help the Rajasthan Royals get their campaign off to a winning start against Chennai Super Kings on Monday. “At the age of 15, he is facing world-class bowlers. When he goes to the international level, he won’t be a stranger. It’s not that he has not faced 140kph-plus bowler. He has already smashed them. If he plays like that, would love to see him getting fast-tracked. Over the last year, in U19, domestic, India A, whatever he has played, he has scored some big hundreds,” Chawla told ESPNCricinfo. ALSO READ | IPL 2026: Rajasthan Royals pace battery demolishes CSK batting before Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s whirlwind knock secures dominant win Another former spinner, Ravichandran Ashwin, however, cautioned against thinking about picking Sooryavanshi for India just yet, adding that looking at how MS Dhoni was playing well into his 40s, the 15-year-old had “two and a half decades left in cricket”. “Don’t give him such a target. He is not even a guy, he is a kid. If MS Dhoni is playing till 45 [44], and if Suryavanshi plays till 40, he has two and a half decades left in cricket. Leave him alone, he will come on his own when the time is right. He is too good to not play for India. He will play anyway eventually. When will he play? For that, we might have to wait a bit. Why are we always in a hurry?” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel Former India batter Ambati Rayudu also felt that Sooryavanshi could find himself in contention in the T20 setup if he has a good IPL 2026.Story continues below this ad “I think definitely in T20 format, if he has a very good IPL and if he shows that he has the ability to keep himself extremely calm under pressure. But, our Indian team is a world champion team, so to replace somebody is that side is not easy. There are a few players ahead of him at the moment,” Rayudu said.
‘Would love to see him fast-tracked’: Former India spinner backs Vaibhav Sooryavanshi to play for India after 17-ball 52 vs CSK in IPL 2026
