Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Told To "Prepare For Exams, Play Gully Cricket": Ex-South Africa Star Fears For Wonderkid's Future

The pressure of expectations that Vaibhav Sooryavanshi faces is unheard of. Even by the standards set by several prodigies in the sporting world before him, Sooryavanshi, 15, faces a situation unlike that of any other sportsperson before him. He is the latest poster boy of a sport that rules the psyche of a billion-strong nation. India's series loss to Ireland has made the clamour to induct Sooryavanshi into the XI even louder. Perhaps former South Africa player Daryl Cullinan put it rightly. "Cricket has seen prodigies. But it has not seen this precise combination before, of innocence, extraordinary gift, and a social media world that has abolished nearly every distance between a child and the opinions of hundreds of millions," he wrote on ESPNcricinfo.

And it is because of this that Cullinan feels Sooryavanshi needs "careful consideration before it is too late."

Sooryavanshi rose to fame after a story emerged from Tajpur, Bihar, about a boy with a stupendous ability to hit the ball. The 'aura' of Sooryavanshi started from there. He went on to make his Ranji Trophy debut at a young age, scored the fastest IPL century by an Indian at 14, and at 15 finished as the top scorer in IPL 2026. Soon, he is likely to make his India debut too.

"Everyone will say they are doing what is best for Sooryavanshi. Most will mean it. His family will love him and travel with him. His coaches will care. His franchise will speak of development. The BCCI will tell us they have a plan. But none of that is the same as protection. Care matters, but it's not enough," Cullinan wrote further.

The former star, a veteran of 70 Tests and 138 ODIs, opined that Sooryavanshi should be allowed to be a 'young boy'.

"In my view - and I say this with care rather than judgment - he should be at home preparing for his exams, playing gully cricket with his mates, and being a young boy while he still has the chance. That does not mean ignoring his talent. It means understanding that the talent will only be truly served if the person carrying it is allowed to grow as a whole and is physically allowed to develop without the risk of premature injuries," he wrote.

"What we should hope for is that he retires at 40 and is not washed up at 25. That's another 25 years of him! We should hope that his talent becomes something he inhabits on his own terms, rather than something that inhabits him. We should hope there are still parts of his life in which he can be ordinary and unobserved, in which he can fail quietly, laugh freely, finish his studies, play without a camera nearby, and digest all of what's happening in the quietness of his home and among his family and friends. The best chance of that happening is in the next three years."

For guidance, Cullinan hopes Sooryavanshi will approach Tendulkar.

"It is my sincere hope that he will turn to Tendulkar for guidance. He could not be luckier to have a mentor in a fellow Indian cricketer who has been through it all and seen it all, and who will have his best interests at heart," he concluded

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