IPL 2026 Sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Backed to Make Test Debut at Just 15

The IPL 2026 season marks the professional debut of 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi who plays for Rajasthan Royals. After his stunning performances, many now believe he deserves an early Test cricket debut.

Since his 2025 IPL debut, Sooryavanshi has accumulated 692 runs across 18 matches while achieving a remarkable strike rate of 224.67 and hitting 2 centuries and 3 fifties. He maintains his batting success through age-group cricket competitions which he plays in all available formats.

Most explosive IPL batters are classified as T20 specialists. However, former cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin believes that Vaibhav Sooryavanshi possesses exceptional abilities which will allow him to excel in all three cricket formats,Test cricket included.

Ashwin thinks that Vaibhav needs to begin his red-ball cricket career because he possesses the necessary skills and confidence to defeat all bowlers who face him. 

Ashwin commneted on the JioHotstar show.“He is taking every bowler down. I wouldn’t mind watching him in a Test match, and I wouldn’t mind watching him in all three formats of the game. Get him onto cricket grounds, get people coming along, because he is going to entertain you.”

The praise from Ashwin who ranks among India’s best Test spinners carries great value because he delivered it. He achieved 537 wickets through his 106-match career while maintaining a bowling average of 24.00.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi now carries excessive responsibility at IPL 2026 because he holds the top position in Rajasthan Royals batting statistics through his 440 runs across 10 matches.

The current situation causes Ashwin to feel dissatisfaction. He requested the senior players Riyan Parag and Dhruv Jurel and Donovan Ferreira to take on greater responsibilities because Sooryavanshi needs freedom to play his game as a 15-year-old who should not bear the entire team burden.

He contimued: “There is no point asking him to do things he shouldn’t be doing at this stage of his career. He has experienced players like Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag and Donovan Ferreira to follow. He shouldn’t be the one carrying that burden. If he can give them flying starts, then with the batting line-up they have, they should be winning games like those comfortably.” 

The Rajasthan Royals faced their worst collapse when Vaibhav failed to reach a high score during their chase of a 230-run target. The young player scored 36 runs from 16 balls before Mohammed Siraj eliminated him during the match against GT in Jaipur.

The Rajasthan Royals experienced a major breakdown after their player lost his wicket. The Royals managed to score only 152 runs in 16.3 overs because their batters except Dhruv Jurel and Ravindra Jadeja failed to reach 20 runs each. 

The Rajasthan Royals dropped to fifth position in the points table after their defeat which brought their total points to 12. The team needs to secure victories in two out of their remaining three games to maintain their chances of reaching the playoffs.