Lalit Modi Predicts 'New Face Of Indian Cricket'. Not Abhishek Sharma Or Shubman Gill

Former Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman Lalit Modi was all praise for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and he claimed that the 15-year-old will become the "face of Indian cricket" in the future. The young sensation has been enjoying a brilliant run of form in the IPL 2026 and his performances have played a big role in handing Rajasthan Royals an impressive start to their season. Sooryavanshi has already scored 2 half-centuries and currently enjoys a strike rate of 263.16. In a podcast with ex-England skipper Michael Vaughan, Lalit Modi said that he was impressed by the confidence on display by a youngster like Sooryavanshi.

"Look at the young kid. Look at (Vaibhav) Sooryavanshi. I can tell you now that kid is going to go out there and be the new face of Indian cricket in the future. The confidence in the kid. Look at the confidence in the kid and his face. 14 years old! My son is 14 years old."

Lalit Modi also advised that it will be important to manage a young talent like Sooryavanshi as he has encountered fame at a very young age. He added that he has seen many cricketers turning into 'monsters' in similar situations.

"This is going to be the next journey for cricketers is how we manage them,how we groom them and how we make sure that it's not about the next watch and the next Ferrari and it's happened to a lot of the players. You could see it in the IPL. It's created lots of monsters but it has created some great players. The Sooryavanshi kid.  I saw this kid hit, [I thought] 'Not possible, I am dreaming. It's not possible that this kid is 14. Seriously?' I am Googling it, I am calling out people, [asking], 'Is this real or is somebody making this up?' And I am getting these messages, and I tell them I am watching. Not once, not twice, this guy has outperformed everybody," he said.

 Lalit Modi also made a bold suggestion to save Test cricket amid growing interest in T20 leagues around the world. 

"I hope Test cricket survives because I love the format. One-Day Internationals are completely irrelevant. It makes no sense, mainly because there is an ever-shorter format in T20 cricket. It's not about the money anymore; it's about whether you can sustain loyalty from the crowd. When you look at the generation growing up now, unfortunately they are not experiencing real Test cricket anywhere except in Australia and England," he said.

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Topics mentioned in this article

Rajasthan Royals Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Abhishek Sharma Shubman Gill Sanju Samson Cricket