Rajasthan Royals opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi won the IPL 2026 Orange Cap at just 15 years of age after scoring 776 runs in 16 matches this season.
Published: June 5, 2026, 1:14 PM IST
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Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is in line to break Sachin Tendulkar’s record in international cricket. (Image: AI)
One of the longest-standing record of Indian cricketer legend Sachin Tendulkar appears all set to be broken by teenage prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi very soon. Tendulkar had become the youngest-ever Indian debutant at the age of 16 years and 205 days against Pakistan in Karachi in 1989. Now 37 years later, Sooryavanshi could break this incredible record of the maestro and become the youngest-ever Indian debutant.
In fact, Sooryavanshi can become the youngest-ever Indian cricketer – men’s and women’s players included – to make his first appearance in international cricket as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) selectors are set to pick him for the T20I series against Ireland and England and possibly even the Asian Games 2026 in September. If Sooryavanshi makes his T20I debut against Ireland or England, he will break the record of women’s team opener Shafali Verma – who made her T20I debut at the age of 15 years and 283 days.
Sooryavanshi took the IPL 2026 season by storm, ending up with the Orange Cap after scoring 776 runs in 16 matches with an incredible strike-rate of 237.3. The Rajasthan Royals opener, who was retained for Rs 1.1 crore ahead of IPL 2026, smashed an incredible 72 sixes – the highest-ever by any batter in the history of Indian Premier League, breaking the record of Chris Gayle who had hit 59 sixes in IPL 2013 season.
The Bihar batter became eligible to play for India after turning 15 years of age in March this year. Sooryavanshi has currently been picked for India ‘A’ team for ODI tri-series against Sri Lanka ‘A’ and Afghanistan ‘A’ team.
Here is a list of youngest Indian debutants…
| Rank | Player | Age at International Debut | Format |
| 1 | Sachin Tendulkar | 16 years 205 days | Test vs Pakistan (1989) |
| 2 | Maninder Singh | 17 years 193 days | Test vs Pakistan (1982) |
| 3 | Harbhajan Singh | 17 years 265 days | Test vs Australia (1998) |
| 4 | Vijay Mehra | 17 years 265 days | Test vs New Zealand (1955) |
| 5 | Parthiv Patel | 17 years 153 days | Test vs England (2002) |
Sachin Tendulkar is looking forward to Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in Test cricket
While the world is waiting for Sooryavanshi’s international debut, Tendulkar wants to see Sooryavanshi in Test cricket. Tendulkar, who scored over 34000 runs in international cricket and world record 100 centuries wants Sooryavanshi just to be himself.
“I would tell Vaibhav just to be himself. There is always a first time. In Test cricket, along with time and age, he will learn how to deal with various challenges, while having a solution-oriented mindset. Problems are always going to be there, till the last day of your career, till the last ball you face. The bowler is asking you a question with every ball. Now, what solutions do you find? He is the kind of player who looks very confident and very sure of what he wants to do. I wouldn’t want to interfere with his natural instincts because the way he sees the ball and the way he responds to it are important,” Tendulkar said at Cricinfo Honours Awards 2026.
“Not just me, everyone would want to see him playing Test cricket at some stage. I don’t know when that is going to happen, but an exciting talent needs encouragement. If he’s doing well, then we need to encourage and support him and, above all, enjoy watching him, rather than constantly putting pressure on him,” Tendulkar added.
