‘Don't hype him so much’ - Kapil Dev addresses Vaibhav Sooryavanshi debut debate during India vs England T20Is

The excitement around Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is palpable. Despite warming the bench for the first three games on India's tour of Ireland and England, fan are going crazy for the 15-year-old teen sensation who has taken the world cricket by storm Not just in India, even the former England players of past and present are spellbound of Sooryavanshi's pyrotechnics with the bat when the southpaw is in the middle.

Even during India's training sessions in Durham and Manchester, there was quite a buzz for Sooryavanshi among the fans as the Samastipur-born lad was seen obliging to the autograph requests on the sidelines. The Indian team management has made it clear that they are not going to drop either Abhishek Sharma or Sanju Samson immediately for Sooryavanshi.

Instead, the southpaw will have to "go through the process and bide his time" like any other cricketer to get a place in the playing XI. India's 1983 World Cup-winning former captain compared Sooryavanshi with the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli but urged everyone to not hype him.

"I haven't seen him play much. He is a huge talent, without any doubt. But I think we are talking too big about him. At the moment, give him some time. Don't hype him so much. He is young at the moment and doesn't have the age to understand everything," Kapil told Sports Tak. After impressing everyone in his maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) season in 2025, Sooryavanshi made IPL 2026 his own by taking the Orange Cap.

'Good as Sachin and Virat Kohli'

Not just his runs in IPL, but Sooryavanshi's knocks in crunch matches - like IPL playoffs and U-19 World Cup final, tri-nation series final - impressed the Indian selectors and head coach Gautam Gambhir the most. As a result, the hard-hitting batter earned his maiden India call-up. Kapil reiterated that Sooryavanshi have a lot to prove in longer formats - Tests and ODIs.

"If you talk about talent, yes, he is as good as Sachin (Tendulkar) and Virat Kohli. This much talent is visible in him, but only in T20 cricket. In the rest of the formats, he will have to prove himself," added the 67-year-old.

What happened in India vs England first T20I?

Putting their humiliating 0-2 defeat to Ireland behind, the Indians started their tour of England on a positive note only for rain to spoil the party. Batting first, India posted 189/7, on the back of half-centuries from Abhishek Sharma and captain Shreyas Iyer. Shivam Dube contributed with an unbeaten knock of 42 towards the end in Durham.

However, the England batters couldn't come out to bat in chase as persistent rain forced the umpires to call it off. The weather forecast in Manchester on Saturday predicts a cool and cloudy conditions with breezy winds and a possibility of a passing shower. The temperatures are likely to be around 20 degrees.