India’s World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev has compared Vaibhav Sooryavanshi to young Sachin Tendulkar. Sooryavanshi, the 15-year-old prodigy batter, has hogged the limelight for his blistering batting and has shown the skills to go a long way in his career.

Sooryavanshi had received his maiden India T20I call-up after he had impressed one and all in IPL 2026.

The left-hander also smashed a blistering knock of 94 runs off just 29 balls in the tri-series final against Sri Lanka A at Dambulla on Sunday. He scored the fastest List A half-century, taking just 11 deliveries to get to the personal milestone.

The left-hander hit 10 fours and eight sixes in his blistering knock as he batted at the top of his game. The youngster scored his runs at a magnificent strike rate of 324.14 and played a key role in helping India post an above-par score of 377 runs on the board. Thus, he was awarded Player of the Match for his whirlwind knock.

Recently, the southpaw scored 776 runs (highest in the tournament) in 16 matches of IPL 2026 for Rajasthan Royals and played an instrumental role in taking the franchise to the playoffs.

“Vaibhav is too young. But yes, he is a special talent and full stop. He is a 16-year-old kid and everything he has is only cricket. Once he reaches 20-22, we will judge. But no doubt his talent is extraordinary. He is like Sachin at the age of 16 but can he play that long? He had to go a long way,” Kapil told The Indian Express.

Dev wished the team all the best for the upcoming UK tour.

“I should say good luck to the Indian team. It’s not just to him but to the whole Indian team and every player. And he is part of that,” Kapil said.

India will play the first T20I against Ireland on Friday.