"Would Make The Team Better": Ex-England Star Backs Vaibhav Sooryavanshi To Make India Debut
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi broke multiple records while also winning the Orange Cap, an honour given to the highest run-scorer in the season.
- Vaibhav Sooryavanshi broke multiple records while also winning the Orange Cap in IPL 2026
- Steven Finn has backed the player to make it to the India squad for England tour in July this year
- "I would love to see him in an Indian shirt in the UK summer," he said
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi continues to rise through the ranks. The teenager shot to fame after Rajasthan Royals paid a whopping sum of Rs 1.1 crore for him ahead of IPL 2025. Sooryavanshi showed his brilliance in the limited opportunities he got in the season before completely bossing the next edition. In IPL 2026, the teenager broke multiple records while also winning the Orange Cap, an honour given to the highest run-scorer in the season. He scored 776 runs in 16 matches at an astonishing strike rate of 237.30. The wonderkid played a huge role in taking his IPL side Rajasthan Royals to Qualifier 2, where they lost to Gujarat Titans.
With every impressive knock, Sooryavanshi forced cricket veterans and former players to consider him for a potential India senior debut.
Former England fast bowler Steven Finn praised the teenager. He also hopes to see him in the nation when India tour for five T20Is and three ODIs in July this year.
"I would love to see him in an Indian shirt in the UK summer. The problem is that they (India) are the world champions, and it'll be an incredibly tough call on those opening the batting now. Yet, whoever he replaces, he would make the team better," Finn said on 'For the Love of Cricket' YouTube channel.
"The question entering this season was if he could do it again and be consistent. The most staggering thing is that he struck at 236 across 700-plus runs against the best bowlers in the world. To sustain that for a full season as a 15-year-old is mind-blowing. He was the story of this IPL. And people say the yorker is his lone weakness. But that's so tough to execute with the new ball that if that's your only weakness, you would almost take that," he added.
Talking about IPL 2026, Royal Challengers Bengaluru defeated Gujarat Titans by five wickets in the final to defend their title. RCB had also won the trophy last year, which was their first IPL title after a long wait of 18 years.
Rajasthan Royals
India Cricket Team