Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Gets Sachin Tendulkar's Nod For Team India Test Debut Amid IPL 2026 Heroics: 'Everyone Would Want...'

IPL 2026: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has been unstoppable in this season of the IPL and hence there are already talks of fast-tracking him in the national set-up. Former India cricketer Sachin Tendulkar too was smitten by the teen sensation and hence took to X and decoded the secret behind his success. Tendulkar has once again praised the Rajasthan Royals opener during an event at the Cricinfo Honours in Mumbai on Saturday. During the event, Tendulkar said there is no harm in pushing him into the national scheme of things. He also reckoned everybody would like to see the youngster in Test cricket as well while making it clear that he should not be rushed. 

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Sooryavanshi For Tests? 

"There is always a first time. In Test cricket, along with age, he will learn how to deal with various challenges. [It's about] having a solution-oriented mindset. Problems are always going to be there. Problems will be there till the last day of your career, till the last ball you face. The bowler is asking a question every ball. Now, what solutions do you find?," Tendulkar said this in the presence of chief selector Ajit Agarkar. 

"He's kind of a player who looks very confident, very, very sure of what he wants to do and I would not want to play around with his natural instincts.

"When Ajit is sitting here, I better be careful what I am saying. I'm not a selector. Not just me, but everyone would want to see him [playing Test cricket] at some stage. I don't know when that is going to happen. But an exciting talent needs encouragement. And if he's doing well, then we need to encourage and support him and enjoy above all and not put pressure on him constantly, you know, he should play this, or he shouldn't be doing this, or he should be picked in whatever squad. Leave that to the guys [selectors] who are responsible for that," he concluded.

He has hit 776 runs in 16 games in IPL 2026. This includes five fifties and a century and the highlight was his strike rate as he got those runs at a staggering strike rate of 237.31.