Zubin Bharucha demands immediate India call-up for 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi, citing Sachin Tendulkar’s rise

The Director of High Performance for the Rajasthan Royals (RR), Zubin Bharucha, has urged Indian selectors to expedite the inclusion of 14-year-old batting prodigy Vaibhav Suryavanshi in the men’s senior team, citing the example of renowned batsman Sachin Tendulkar. Since making his Indian Premier League (IPL) debut earlier this year, Vaibhav has instantly become well-known. He became the fastest Indian centurion in IPL history, achieving the milestone in just 35 balls. Bharucha recently asked the selectors to “blood” Suryavanshi into the senior squad right away, much like Tendulkar did all those years ago.

“He should be blooded into the senior team immediately, like Sachin was all those years ago. They have to blood this guy immediately, boss, because he is in another zone only. At least send him on an India A tour. Send him to India A immediately. I’m telling you, this Australian attack that is here, bowling to India A guys, he would have got a double hundred,” Bharucha told the Times of India.

Add Cricket Country as a Preferred Source

Bharucha also recalled how, during a practice session, Suryavanshi unsettled England pacer and RR teammate Jofra Archer in the nets.

“He smoked Jofra Archer in the nets. Jofra Archer, when he bowls in the nets, he’s a demon. He never bowls a warm-up ball when the batter is there. He absolutely charges in. And actually, Jofra Archer knocked off Steve Smith’s head in a practice session we had before the Ashes. Smith was struggling against him. From that day onwards, he never went inside the net when Jofra was bowling.

“When he was bowling to Vaibhav, I was scared, and this boy hit one shot on the back foot, and it went out of the stadium. All the coaching staff, even Jofra, were stunned,” he said.

Suryavanshi recently scored a century off 78 balls for India U-19 against Australia U-19, setting a new record as the fourth-fastest century in Youth Test history.

He smashed two men’s U19 Test centuries in less than 100 balls, becoming the first batsman in history to do so after Brendon McCullum.