Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, the teenage batting sensation who has set the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 alight, has earned a ringing endorsement from former India head coach Ravi Shastri, who urged selectors to fast-track the youngster into the senior T20 setup ahead of the upcoming white-ball tour of Ireland.

Sooryavanshi's IPL Numbers Demand Attention

Sooryavanshi has been one of the standout performers of the IPL 2025 season, amassing 440 runs in 11 innings for the Rajasthan Royals at a staggering strike rate of 236.56. The left-handed opener has also hit a tournament-leading 40 sixes, including a breathtaking 36-ball century against Sunrisers Hyderabad and two additional half-centuries. Those numbers have swiftly elevated him from a promising junior prospect to a genuine contender for senior international honours.

What Shastri Said

Speaking on The ICC Review, Shastri was unequivocal about the teenager's readiness, dismissing concerns over his age — widely reported to be between 14 and 16 years old.

'The door would be three-fourths open. I can tell you that, for sure, because if you want to encourage or get someone young and into the setup as quickly as possible, then it's the T20 format of the game and he is not short by any margin. This guy can walk into a lot of sides in world cricket at this current moment in time. Just when you look at the exuberance of youth and that youth shows on his face,' Shastri said.

He added: 'A lot of people will ask, is he 15, is he 16, is he 14? I don't care. I just see the way he is batting at the moment and the way he's taking on all comers twice his age or maybe two and a half times his age. It doesn't matter to him. So I think he's very, very much in the reckoning. And when you have tours of Ireland and all this happening now, I would be looking into him straight away.'

India A Call-Up and the Road Ahead

The timing of Shastri's public backing has proved significant. Just a day after his comments, Sooryavanshi received his maiden India A call-up, with the youngster set to tour Sri Lanka in June for a tri-series involving India A, Sri Lanka A, and Afghanistan A. Strong performances in that assignment are expected to sharpen the debate around a senior debut.

Notably, if selected for the Ireland T20I series, Sooryavanshi would become the youngest player ever to represent India in international cricket — a milestone that underlines the extraordinary nature of his rise.

Context: A Record-Breaking Junior Career

Sooryavanshi's trajectory is difficult to contextualise through conventional metrics. He was already a key figure in India's victorious ICC Men's Under-19 Cricket World Cup campaign earlier this year, and his IPL performances have now drawn comparisons with some of the fastest-rising talents in Indian cricket history. Selectors are reportedly placing increasing value on aggressive, high-strike-rate batting options in the T20 format — a profile Sooryavanshi fits precisely.

With the Ireland tour approaching and the India A tri-series in Sri Lanka serving as a potential proving ground, all eyes will be on whether the selectors heed Shastri's call.