Robin Uthappa and Mohammad Kaif warn on Sooryavanshi management
Uthappa and Kaif said Sooryavanshi needs careful handling and an earlier debut opportunity to avoid the fate of earlier prodigies.
Robin Uthappa thinks Vaibhav Sooryavanshi could have a bigger impact on white-ball cricket than Sachin Tendulkar, but the next five years will decide if he stays on track. He pointed to Vinod Kambli and Prithvi Shaw as talents who faded after early promise, and said Sooryavanshi has to stay focused until he turns 20.
Mohammad Kaif believes the 15-year-old should have debuted against Ireland rather than England. He thinks an earlier chance would have helped him settle after winning the Orange Cap in IPL 2026, and that sitting out those matches only added pressure.
Sooryavanshi scored 14, 13 and 15 in his first three T20Is against England before returning to form with 151 runs across three matches against Zimbabwe at an average of 50.33.
CricHubb Take
Kaif's point about the Ireland series opens a harder question: if the selectors didn't trust Sooryavanshi then, what changes now that he's already in the side and underperforming?