Former New Zealand cricketer Simon Dole believes Vibhu Suryavanshi should find a place in India’s international set-up soon, even suggesting that the youngster could make his batting debut in Test cricket.Suryavanshi’s Test opening idea came up during a discussion on Sky Sports on the opening day of the first Test between England and New Zealand on Thursday.“I found a way to excite Test match cricket around the world. Start batting with Suryavanshi. Can you imagine seeing him in Test match cricket?” said the presenter.To which Dole replied, “It can’t be far.”Suryavanshi was one of the biggest stories of IPL 2026. Rajasthan Royals The batsman bagged several awards at the end of the tournament, including Most Valuable Player, Emerging Player of the Season, Super Striker of the Season, Orange Cap Winner and Super Sixes of the Season.The Bihar-born batsman finished as the tournament’s highest run-scorer with 776 runs at a strike rate of 237.30.His season included a record 72 sixes and several milestones that made him one of the greatest performers in IPL history.At the age of 15 years and 65 days, Suryavanshi also became the youngest Orange Cap winner in IPL history. The previous record was held by Gujarat Titans opener Sai Sudharsan in 2025 at the age of 23 years and 231 days.The youngster came close to equaling Virat Kohli’s record of four centuries in an IPL season. Apart from his century against Sunrisers Hyderabad, he got out three times in the nineties — 93 against Lucknow Supergiants, 97 in the eliminator against Sunrisers Hyderabad and 96 in Qualifier 2 against Gujarat Titans.Suryavanshi also became the fastest player to reach 1,000 IPL runs in terms of balls faced, getting there in 440 balls, surpassing West Indies batsman Andre Russell. Innings-wise, he became the second fastest player to reach the milestone at 23 innings. Shaun Marsh remains the fastest to achieve this feat in 21 innings.Praising the youngster’s season, Dole said, “It’s extraordinary, it’s extraordinary. I mean, to see the highest run-scorer in the tournament. I don’t know how many awards he won in the tournament (IPL), but it was extraordinary for a 16-year-old kid.”Dole added that India should soon find a place for Suryavanshi in one of its national teams.“I don’t know who they replace, but yeah they had to find a place for him in some of those teams.”
