Not Sachin Tendulkar, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Gets New Comparison

Sooryavanshi compared to West Indian greats [Source: AFP]Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, the 15-year-old Indian prodigy, has taken the game by storm after an out-of-the-world IPL 2026 campaign for the Rajasthan Royals. The teenage sensation finished as the highest run-getter of the tournament and swept away numerous awards to end the tournament on a high.The youngster has impressed everyone with his fearless batting, and the latest cricketer to shower praise on Sooryavanshi has been the Australian legend, Glenn McGrath.The former Australian pacer has been in awe of Sooryavanshi’s ability to take down the best in the business, and he has given his full stamp of approval by comparing the Indian rising star to the West Indies’ legendary players.Sooryavanshi compared with Lara, Sobers as McGrath showers praiseSooryavanshi has made a name for himself at such a young age, and McGrath, who was left awestruck, has compared the Indian youngster to two of the finest West Indian players, Brian Lara and Sir Gary Sobers.He was often compared with the great Sachin Tendulkar for his ability to take down attacks at such a young age. However, McGrath has a different take on the left-handed batter.“You probably look at someone like Brian Lara with that backlift. You look back, and Gary Sobers is another one who comes to mind. He was incredible. Normally, players have more force than sixes, but he had 72 sixes and 63 fours. He's obviously a powerful hitter and has definitely changed the game. They have no fear, do they? They don't care whether it's Pat Cummers bowling. If it's there, he just hits through it," McGrath said, as quoted by TOI.The former World Cup winner, however, wants to see how Sooryavanshi flourishes in Test cricket, and whether he has the desire to play the longest format.Also Read: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Called By Nepal Cricket“I like to think players will look after Test cricket and it's still the ultimate. But there's some players that probably don't want to play a longer version of the game. You look at Tim David for Australia, came through, played IPL before he played for Australia. Maybe that's just the modern game. You'd have to ask him (Vaibhav) whether he has aspirations of going on to play red ball cricket, Test cricket for India," McGrath said, as quoted by Indian Express.Sooryavanshi gets India callup after stellar IPL 2026Sooryavanshi was hailed as a one-season wonder after his exploits in the IPL 2025. However, the RR opener silenced his critics in the IPL 2026 campaign and ended up having one of the best seasons played by a cricketer in the IPL.He slammed 776 runs in 16 matches, with a strike rate of 237.31. Moreover, the batter smacked 5 fifties and a century to end the tournament with record-breaking performances.As a result of his stellar campaign, the BCCI picked him in the India T20I squads for the series against Ireland, and England.Sooryavanshi fails after getting India senior call-upThe buzz was high as Sooryavanshi was also picked in the India A squad for the ODIs against Sri Lanka A. The series was his first assignment after getting picked in the T20I squad, and everyone expected him to deliver the goods.However, in the first match of the series on Tuesday, the young Sooryavanshi failed and scored just 14 off 12 balls before getting dismissed. He was even trolled on social media as many felt the youngster was still not ready for international cricket.Also Read: Arjun Tendulkar's Powerful Shot Injures Fan; What Follows Next Will Melt Hearts