Sachin Tendulkar backs Vaibhav Sooryavanshi for Test cricket ahead of Ajit Agarkar, but on one condition

With every knock he played in IPL 2026, the buzz surrounding his potential India debut became louder and louder. It reached a fever pitch earlier this week when he played two mature strokes in contrasting circumstances in the 1990s in the play-offs, showing he is much more than just strokes and sixes.

Throughout the season, discussions surrounding the 15-year-old ranged from comparisons with the legendary Sachin Tendulkar to why the BCCI shouldn’t postpone his India T20I debut, before later ruminating on whether he could eventually become an all-format player.

Speaking at the Cricinfo Honors in Mumbai on Saturday, where he was named the best international batsman of the 21st century, and in the presence of BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar, Tendulkar admitted that he would like to see Sooryavanshi play Test cricket – but only eventually.

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“I would tell him to just be himself,” he said. “There is always a first time. In Test cricket, along with age, he will learn to deal with different challenges. [It’s about] have a solutions-oriented mentality. There will always be problems. There will be problems until the last day of your career, until the last ball you face. The bowler asks a question with each ball. What solutions do you find now?

“He’s the kind of player who looks very confident, very sure of what he wants to do and I wouldn’t want to play with his natural instincts.

“The way he sees the ball and the way he reacts to it, if that signal is interrupted – if you put a lot of barriers in between by telling him multiple things – that’s where the real challenge would be. I would give him the freedom to go out and hit the way he does. Over time he will learn to deal with other challenges of the game.”

When asked if he would like to see Sooryavanshi play Test cricket, Tendulkar immediately called for caution amid the growing buzz over his India debut. He urged people to encourage and support the teenager instead of burdening him with constant pressure to play for India regardless of the format.

On Test cricket, Tendulkar made it clear that he would like to see Sooryavanshi play the traditional format one day, but stressed that the teenager should not be rushed.

“If Ajit is sitting here, I better be careful what I say. I am not a selector. Not just me, but everyone would want to see him [playing Test cricket] at some stage. I don’t know when that will happen.

But an exciting talent needs encouragement. And if he does well, we should encourage him and support him and above all enjoy him, and not put him under constant pressure. He should play this, or he shouldn’t play this, or he should be picked in any team. Leave that to the boys. [selectors] who are responsible for that,” he said.

These words perhaps come from Tendulkar’s own experience as a teenage prodigy.

At the age of 16, he was quickly included in the Indian team for the tour of Pakistan, where he made his debut in the Karachi Test in 1989, becoming India’s youngest-ever Test debutant at the time. A month later, during the same tour, he also made his ODI debut.

Tendulkar went on to play 664 international matches for India, including 200 Tests and 463 ODIs, scoring over 34,000 international runs and amassing a century of centuries.

There is already speculation that Sooryavanshi could make his India debut after the IPL, with several white-ball assignments lined up. The selectors have already picked him for the India A tri-series in Sri Lanka next month, with Agarkar indicating that the committee will closely monitor his performance before making any further decisions on the Rajasthan Royals batsman.

Meanwhile, a PTI report on Saturday revealed that Sooryavanshi is part of the T20I list submitted to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) for the Asian Games, to be held in Aichi-Nagoya from September 19 to October 4. Should he make his debut at the Asiad, he would become India’s youngest-ever debutant.

And it wasn’t just the six-hitting.

It was the wrist work, balance and ability to read the game that impressed him most.

“Everyone is talking about Sooryavanshi, and I saw him bat – it was fantastic,” Tendulkar said. “I mean, he’s really something special. And not just the ability to hit the ball, but what also fascinated me was the wrist work that he has.

“To be able to play in all directions off the ground, you need good wrist work. And he’s not fumbling with the ball. He just chooses the line and length before the rest of the guys and he can get over the rope comfortably.”