3 min readSep 21, 2026 12:06 PM IST
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi will grab his opportunities when they come and he is the future of Indian cricket, according to former Sri Lanka captain Sanath Jayasuriya. The 15-year-old Sooryavanshi has grabbed eyeballs around the world with his big-hitting despite his age but India head coach Gautam Gambhir has said that he will have to do more to become a regular in the senior side.
“I think, let him play. He is the future for India. He has got a lot of time, so give him the opportunity and space to do well, and he will do well,” Jayasuriya is quoted as saying by PTI. The 57-year-old said that Sooryavanshi will get opportunities and the teenager will grab them as they come. “The opportunities will come. I can’t tell where he can play, it depends. When the opportunities will come, he will grab it.”
Sooryavanshi became India’s youngest debutant a couple of months ago in England, wherein he scored 42 runs in three matches. In the subsequent series against Zimbabwe, he topped the run-scoring leaderboard, with 151 runs at 50.33 and 196.10. Given the rich vein of form he was in, coupled with Sanju Samson’s struggle with form, Sooryavanshi was expected to open the innings for India against Afghanistan.
However, Gambhir opted to revert to the opening pair that won him the 2026 T20 World Cup — Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson. It proved to be the correct decision, with the pair scoring 346 runs between them.
Gambhir later said that Sooryavanshi will have to bide his time and exercise patience before he eventually gets a run in the team.
“From Vaibhav’s point of view, it was again a very clear conversation that he has to wait for his opportunity. We know the kind of talent he has. We know what he can do, but again, someone who’s done extremely well over a period of two years (Sanju Samson), obviously, he will always be ahead of someone who’s just walked into the team. So, whenever he gets that run, he will get a longer run as well, and that is what Indian cricket is all about. You want competition, you want that talent in the dressing room, but sometimes that’s how cricket goes, whether you’re a 15-year-old or a 30-year-old. When you have to wait for your opportunity, you have to wait for your opportunity,” the India head coach said.
