Sunil Gavaskar's Massive Warning Amid Hype For Vaibhav Suryavanshi And Co: "Forget Thoughts Of IPL"

Vaibhav Suryavanshi has already broken a plethora of records in his very short cricket career so far. The 14-year-old announced himself to the world with a six on the first ball of his Indian Premier League (IPL) career, and then smashed a 35-ball century in his third IPL match. Suryavanshi's India U19 captain Ayush Mhatre is also a highly-regarded talent, having impressed for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the IPL. However, legendary Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar sent a warning as Mhatre, Suryavanshi and co. gear up for the U19 World Cup 2026.

There have even been calls to hand an India debut to Suryavanshi from certain sections of experts and fans. However, Gavaskar urged for the hype to be cooled.

"It is too early to call anybody a sensation, as time and again it has been seen that there is a huge gap between Under-19 cricket and first-class cricket, not to speak of international cricket," Gavaskar wrote in his column on Mid-Day.

India U19 suffered a disastrous 191-run defeat to Pakistan U19 in the final of the U19 Asia Cup in December 2025, with several players getting out looking to play aggressive strokes.

Gavaskar appealed for proper mentorship for the young players.

"Some of the batters playing IPL and those picked for this season's IPL batted as if the opposition attack was nothing and tried to hit straightaway and lost their wickets," he wrote.

"Yes, it's a young group, inexperienced too and that's why it's important for a senior player and mentor to tell them that however ordinary the attack, one mistake can mean you are back in the dugout. Let's hope that they forget thoughts of IPL and focus on the job at hand and that is to win the Trophy once again. Go for it youngsters," Gavaskar added.

Topics mentioned in this article

Vaibhav Suryavanshi Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Sunil Gavaskar India Cricket Team Cricket