South African batting great AB de Villiers has backed Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s talent but said he is unsure whether the 15-year-old will choose to pursue red-ball cricket in the future.Speaking at an event in Mumbai on Sunday, de Villiers said Sooryavanshi has the skill to succeed in Test cricket but questioned whether the teenager would want to take that path.“Yeah, he’s a wonderful talent. The red-ball thing I absolutely cannot answer. I think he can if he wants to, but there’s your answer, and there’s the big question as well is does he really want to? Time will tell. There’s no doubt he’s got the talent and the ability to do so. It won’t always be easy, and I’ve mentioned that a few times before,” de Villiers said, as quoted by news agency ANI.The former South Africa captain said there would be challenges if Sooryavanshi chose to play the longer format but backed his ability to handle them.“If he decides to play red-ball cricket, there will be some challenges, but he’s got the skill and the ability to work through that and in my opinion, I hope he does try and play Test cricket, but I doubt it. We’ll see in future.”De Villiers also supported the selectors’ decision to include Sooryavanshi in India’s T20I squad for the upcoming tours of Ireland and England, as well as the Asian Games.On Saturday, the BCCI named Sooryavanshi in all three squads, making him the youngest player ever selected for the Indian side at the age of 15. He broke a 36-year-old record held by Sachin Tendulkar, who made his international debut against Pakistan in 1989 at the age of 16.Calling the selectors’ move the correct one, de Villiers said the teenager had earned his place.“It’s definitely the right call from the selectors. So well done to them for making the brave decision. It would have been easy to say that he’s still too young and he’s not ready, and go for more experience. He’s broken down that door, and he deserves his place in the Indian T20 team, so I’m happy for him,” he said.Sooryavanshi earned the call-up after a record-breaking IPL 2026 season with Rajasthan Royals. The Bihar batter finished as the tournament’s highest run-scorer with 776 runs at a strike rate of 237.30.He also hit a record 72 sixes during the season and collected multiple post-season awards, including Most Valuable Player (MVP), Emerging Player of the Season, Super Striker, Orange Cap and Super Sixes of the Season.
Do you believe Vaibhav Sooryavanshi should play red-ball cricket in addition to T20?
