NEW DELHI: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s record-shattering IPL 2026 campaign has sparked one of Indian cricket’s biggest selection debates. The 15-year-old batting sensation from Bihar’s Samastipur amassed 776 runs in 16 matches at a staggering strike rate of 237.31, while smashing a record 72 sixes during the season.The extraordinary run has prompted calls from several former cricketers for Sooryavanshi to be fast-tracked into the Indian team. The debate has also revived comparisons with Sachin Tendulkar, who made his international debut at the age of 16 in 1989.Adding to the discussion recently, Sachin Tendulkar praised Sooryavanshi’s talent and expressed hope that the youngster would eventually play Test cricket for India. However, the batting legend also urged fans and experts not to burden the teenager with expectations.Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar has now weighed in on the debate, rejecting direct comparisons between Tendulkar’s rise and Sooryavanshi’s current journey.“I don’t want to compare Tendulkar and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. Tendulkar grew up in a different era. At age 14, he made a name and he was a teenage sensation in red-ball cricket. He got a hundred in his first Ranji game, first Duleep Trophy game and first Irani Trophy game. At the age of 16, he was dominating world cricket. But that was red-ball cricket, so that rhythm was easy to maintain. This is a guy who’s sensational in T20 cricket in the IPL. So he’s going about it differently,” Manjrekar told Sportstar.Tendulkar was 16 years and 205 days old when he made his international debut against Pakistan in Karachi on November 15, 1989. While many have cited that example while pushing for Sooryavanshi’s inclusion in the national team, Manjrekar believes the two cases are fundamentally different.The former India cricketer said it was important not to complicate matters for the teenager and instead allow him to determine the direction of his career.“As I said, let’s not complicate things for him and let him decide if he wants to aspire to play Ranji Trophy cricket. He’s got to fight for his place in that side and let the state selectors decide whether he’s going to be adding value and whether he’s going to be a good enough player. But it’s really about what he wants to do,” he said.Manjrekar stressed that managing Sooryavanshi’s career should not become a public project.“A lot of people are saying, how should we handle Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and how will he fare in red-ball cricket? I don’t think it’s our job to handle or even the BCCI’s job to handle. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is an individual and I’m sure there are people around him that advise him, parents, coaches. It’s about what he sets out to do in life,” he said.While acknowledging Sooryavanshi’s immense T20 potential, Manjrekar said the youngster has multiple paths available to him.“If he wants to just be a T20 sensation and focus on T20 cricket, so be it. And that shouldn’t be held against him. But then you’ll be judged only as a T20 phenomenal player,” he said.At the same time, Manjrekar believes Sooryavanshi possesses the attributes to excel in the 50-over format as well.“If he plays 50-over cricket, I think there’s great value in certain conditions for him to bat in the first 10 overs and do what Rohit Sharma did in the 2023 World Cup, even better than Rohit. Give the kind of flying start that makes life much easier for the rest. So that’s a role.”The former batter added that Sooryavanshi’s future in red-ball cricket should be determined through the conventional route rather than on the basis of his IPL exploits.“Three-day matches or four-day or five-day matches — he’s played a few first-class games and I don’t think he has a great record. But time will tell and it really should be about him deciding what he wants to be in life. Because if he wants to play red-ball cricket, it’s a little unfair that he gets picked on these performances.”“When there could be certain deserving players who have done the hard yards in that Bihar Ranji Trophy team. So I believe it’s about Vaibhav just deciding what he wants to be as a batter,” Manjrekar said.
