New Delhi, May 17 (IANS) Former India head coach Ravi Shastri believes teenage batting prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is already ready for the international stage, urging selectors to fast-track the youngster into India’s T20 setup following his remarkable rise over the past few months.

Sooryavanshi’s stock has soared rapidly after a sensational run in the Indian Premier League with the Rajasthan Royals, where the left-handed opener has emerged as one of the most destructive batters of the season. The teenager has accumulated 440 runs in 11 innings while maintaining an extraordinary strike rate of 236.56, including a tournament-leading tally of 40 sixes.

His breakthrough campaign has featured a breathtaking 36-ball century against Sunrisers Hyderabad, along with two additional half-centuries, performances that have elevated him from a promising youth prospect to a genuine contender for higher honours.

Shastri, speaking on The ICC Review, said the fearless approach shown by the youngster against experienced bowlers across the IPL makes him impossible to ignore.

“The door would be three-fourths open. I can tell you that, for sure, because if you want to encourage or get someone young and into the setup as quickly as possible, then it’s the T20 format of the game and he is not short by any margin. This guy can walk into a lot of sides in world cricket at this current moment in time. Just when you look at the exuberance of youth and that youth shows on his face,” Shastri said on The ICC Review.

The former India captain and coach suggested that India’s upcoming white-ball tour of Ireland could offer the ideal platform to introduce Sooryavanshi to senior international cricket. If selected, the youngster would become the youngest player ever to debut for India.

Shastri dismissed concerns surrounding the batter’s age, insisting that his performances and temperament already indicate readiness for the next level.

“A lot of people will ask, is he 15, is he 16, is he 14? I don’t care. I just see the way he is batting at the moment and the way he’s taking on all comers twice his age or maybe two and a half times his age. It doesn’t matter to him. So I think he’s very, very much in the reckoning. And when you have tours of Ireland and all this happening now, I would be looking into him straight away,” Shastri added.

The timing of Shastri’s endorsement has only intensified speculation around Sooryavanshi’s future after the teenager earned his maiden India A call-up earlier this week. The selection came just a day after Shastri publicly backed him for national honours, further strengthening the narrative around his meteoric rise.

Sooryavanshi is now set to tour Sri Lanka in June as part of a tri-series involving India A, Sri Lanka A and Afghanistan A. Strong displays during that assignment could accelerate discussions about a senior India debut, particularly with selectors increasingly prioritising aggressive batting options in the T20 format.

Having already starred in India’s victorious ICC Men’s Under-19 Cricket World Cup campaign earlier this year, Sooryavanshi’s rapid progression is beginning to draw comparisons with some of the country’s fastest-rising cricket talents in recent memory.

–IANS

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