Former England captain Nasir Hussain insisting that India should not wait too long before giving teenage sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi his international debut. Rajasthan Royals The opener has already done enough to force its way into the national conversation.Speaking at the ICC Review, Hussain was full of praise for the 15-year-old, whose record-breaking IPL 2026 campaign has made him one of the most talked-about young cricketers in the world.“The simple answer to that is yes, to play him. I haven’t watched much IPL to be honest, but I’ve seen clips of Suryavanshi and what an incredible talent he is,” Nasir Hussain said.Suryavanshi’s numbers from the season were phenomenal. The left-handed opener scored 776 runs in 16 matches at an impressive strike rate of 237.30. He rewrote the IPL record book with 72 sixes, the most in a single edition of the tournament. His performances earned him both the Orange Cap and the Most Valuable Player award.The youngster’s rise has been praised by some of the biggest names in cricket. Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has already publicly backed him for the top honours, while the batting legend Sachin Tendulkar Recently praised the youngster’s technique and fearless batting style.Hussain recalled his initial meeting with Tendulkar during the Nehru Cup, reminiscing about his first time seeing the great Indian talent.“My first match for England was in the Nehru Cup, how long ago that was, and this young guy came out with pads that I had never seen before, and his name was Sachin Tendulkar,” Hussain recalled.“And I was totally in awe and I’ve seen some tweets about Sachin Suryavanshi’s bat swing and if you can inspire Sachin Tendulkar and if you can inspire. Virat Kohli And the rest, it has affected everyone. What an incredible talent,” he added.Acknowledging India’s abundance of batting options at the top of the order, Hussain argued that truly extraordinary talent ultimately makes selection inevitable.India currently has several established and emerging white-ball openers, including Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson And Ishan Kishan. Still, Hussain believes that Suryavanshi’s case has become impossible to ignore.“So anywhere in the world you would say bring him on. But normally in the toss you only have to name 11 players. In international cricket, who do you leave for that?“India have a list of batsmen that they can and should play, but in the end, someone makes such a case, such a consistent case, and such an incredible case is chosen. In the end, you have to say, I don’t care who we’re leaving, this guy has to play,” Hussain believes.The former England captain also pointed out that the next phase of Suryavanshi’s development involves proving himself in different situations and overcoming the inevitable challenges that every young batsman faces during a long career.“And I’m getting to the stage where you say the guy has to play because there are other challenges away from home.“To do that against a ball that’s spinning is the ultimate dip in form, which he doesn’t have yet, finding a weakness, maybe a short ball, who knows?“But you have to go through all these things before you go to a world event and he’s going to be a star. We saw it in the Under-19 World Cup. We saw what he did with England in the Under-19 World Cup, everybody, especially for England. In my words, this guy is a talent and he has to play,” he said.Suryavanshi’s credentials go beyond his IPL achievements. Earlier this year, he played a key role in India’s victorious U-19 World Cup campaign, scoring the highest ever score in the tournament final against England.The next leg of his journey is already underway. After his remarkable domestic and franchise season, Suryavanshi has been included in the India A squad for the upcoming tri-series involving Sri Lanka and Afghanistan, starting on June 9.
