Charcha Time: Sachin Tendulkar Or Vinod Kambli? Is Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Ready For Fame?

Wonder boy Vaibhav Sooryvanshi was seen crying in the dugout on Friday after the Rajasthan Royals lost to the Gujarat Titans despite his high score. Earlier, he was caught sitting alone, crying, near the ropes after the Royals lost to the Kolkata Knight Riders. His scores didn’t matter; his team’s loss did. And he couldn’t control the emotion. The disappointment on his face when he was out was heart-wrenching. Despite his attempts to hide it, you can see the 15-year-old’s vulnerability. At an age when he should be thinking about college, he thinks about team victory. You are reminded of Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli, who played international cricket at a similar age and were centre of attraction. One went on to be the God of Cricket, and the other destroyed himself. What went wrong? And what do Vaibhav’s parents and mentors need to do to protect the boy and groom him? Rushikesh Bamne discusses with cricketers and a sports psychologist.

Jatin Paranjape, Member, BCCI's Cricket Advisory Committee

For the first time since Sachin Tendulkar, I am seeing this kind of talent in a player. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is a precious gem that our country has been blessed with. However, we should not rush to play him in the Indian team. That boy took the IPL by storm last year in his very first season. Following that, the storm from Vaibhav's bat has continued in this year's IPL as well. He is among top two batters in Orange Cap race and has dismantled world-class international bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah, Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Perhaps the selection committee will soon select him for the Indian team as well. He is smashing the white ball with ease. However, he should be allowed to play at least one or two seasons in first-class cricket. This will help him become more grounded and settled. Sachin became a great player because he corrected the flaws in his game at a very young age. In an Under-19 tournament against Pakistan, Vaibhav survived twice and was eventually dismissed by a bouncer from the very same bowler. The word 'defend' might not even exist in his dictionary. Therefore, even though he possesses skills like Sachin, he should give himself time to settle down. I have doubts about whether Vaibhav will defend the ball in the red-ball format.

Siddhesh Lad, Mumbai Cricketer

Vaibhav is very special. It is not just about the power-hitting, but the game awareness that he has, which makes him very special. He may debut soon for India, in T20I format. As of now, let him enjoy his play and don't put much pressure on him. The young generation has been following Vaibhav a lot and I feel there will be many more players like him in tournaments such as the Mumbai Premier League and other leagues because there is a lot of talent in India.

Sarfaraz Khan, Indian Cricketer

Whenever Vaibhav comes to bat, he starts with a six! I have hardly seen someone like him. He has made bowlers' lives difficult. He is my good friend. He debuted against us (Mumbai) in Ranji Trophy in 2024. So, I have been watching him since then. What can I say to him now? Whatever he is doing, is already best. If given a chance in Red ball cricket, he will play with the same style and mindset. It's the fruit of his hard work. So let him play and enjoy. India has seen a lot of batting superstars from Gavaskar to Tendulkar to Kohli. This boy can be the next.

Dr. Neeta Tatke, Sports Psychologist

Even though I don't follow IPL, I have been reading and listening about Vaibhav a lot since the last few days. When I look at his brief career, I perceive a certain consistency in his performance.

One very crucial aspect that must be highlighted about him is his financial management. That means even if he stops playing right now, he has earned enough money to last him a lifetime.

18 years is considered the legal age in our country. But even at 18, one doesn’t get the maturity required to manage money. There are examples abroad where immensely wealthy individuals millionaires and billionaires have set conditions like, ''My child cannot access this money for personal use until they turn 25.'' Parents have set up a good trust fund or something similar for the money in this manner. This is because when a lot of money keeps flowing into one's hands, negative things, the wrong kind of people, and an undesirable circle of acquaintances begin to gather around it. Currently, there isn't even a need for that much money. Therefore, financial management is a crucial part.

Along with that, there is the mindset that one's feet must remain firmly on the ground. Take the example of Sachin Tendulkar. Sachin also made his debut for the Indian team at the age of 16. However, while Sachin succeeded, Vinod Kambli, who started at the same time, and was Sachin’s school mate, fell behind for some reason. Since I am an alumni of Shardashram, I know both of them.

Sachin Tendulkar had strong values. Having a writer father and a teacher mother imbibed those strongly. Values and the parents' primary role is extremely crucial. From a psychologist's perspective, I believe it would be excellent if Vaibhav Sooryavanshi receives some psychological guidance. But even more than him, this guidance should be given to his parents. This is because it has often happened that conflicts arise among the parents of successful athletes. One parent feels a certain way is right, while the other feels a different way is right. Consequently, there have been instances where the child's success has led to disagreements and issues between the parents themselves. Seeking guidance on how to handle the child's success is necessary, because through him, the parents also become prominent figures. Right now, the child is achieving success consistently. But a stage will eventually come when failure hits home. How do we support the child then, and/or how do we ourselves digest that failure? The preparation for this must start right now. Guidance on how to handle failure must be provided to both the parents and the child from this point onward.

You have seen Sachin Tendulkar’s journey as well, right? There was a phase when he faced failure. What has happened with Vaibhav? Once, he got out for a duck, then had a low score, and then bounced right back to the top. He hasn't experienced a continuous stretch of failure lasting two or three months yet. I believe that time eventually comes in every athlete's life. Preparing for that is highly critical. When failure happens, the stinging criticism begins. What we call "trolling" these days. Since he has succeeded and learned at such a young age, the trolling against him could be very harsh. At this age, he needs to protect himself a bit from social media and all of this.

So, these would be my three main pieces of advice to Vaibhav and his parents: Financial management, mental conditioning for the parents and Vaibhav to keep their feet on the ground and to prepare somewhere for potential failure, and staying away from social media.

Shubham Shetty, Fan

Can you believe a 15-year-old boy is making people of all ages glued to your mobile or laptop screen. It could be a bit of nostalgia as this would have reminded us about The God of Cricket Sachin Tendulkar, who debuted at 16, who was considered more of a technically sound Test and ODI batter. It's not that Vaibhav is not technically correct. He has improved as a player, the improvement can be seen as he dominated the big games and is not worried about milestones. Also he is not only a batter he also has that slow left arm spin the style like BishanSingh Bedi. If he develops both these skills and improves on both, he will be ruling the next two decades easily.

Published on: Sunday, May 31, 2026, 08:55 AM IST