While Shubman Gill & Co. are winning a lot of hearts for their fight and character in the third Lord's Test against England, Rajasthan Royals (RR) opener Vaibhav Suryavanshi is winning a lot of English fans for his stunning display in the five-match Youth ODI series against the England U-19 side. Experts, Dinesh Karthik and Ravi Shastri also unanimously predicted that the southpaw will be playing for the Indian senior team.
RR director Kumar Sangakkara also revealed how the teenage star is already flooded with a lot of high-value brand endorsement deals. Jos Buttler, who saw firsthand experience of RR opener smashing 35-ball ton against his team GT in IPL 2025 season, said Suryvanshi has an incredible bat swing and compared it with Yuvraj Singh and Brian Lara.
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Daniel Peacock, ECB cricket analyst, lavishes huge praise on Vaibhav Suryavanshi
Daniel Peacock, a cricket analyst and statistician for England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), who also covered the U-19 series between England and India, shares how the 14-year-old has already become a crowd-puller.
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"The first time I saw him in the flesh, though, I do remember a real air of excitement at Northamptonshire for the second one-dayer - more photos, more press, the BBC had even come close to seeing him play," Peacock tells TimesofIndia.com.
"I knew I was watching a serious star talent. He hit 86 from 31 in a 40-over game (reduced due to weather), which included six fours and nine sixes (match 3 at Northants). He got a standing ovation after pulling the pacer Sebastian Morgan to backward square leg. The PA announcer, when announcing his score after the dismissal, said: 'I think we will be seeing a lot more of this boy play."
"Then at New Road, home of Worcestershire, in a near-perfect all-round performance, he strutted comfortably to 143 off 78 balls. By the time he walked off after being caught in deep to spin, I think everyone inside the venue had long realized they had just witnessed something really special."
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The proof of Suryavanshi's growing popularity came to the fore when two young fans drove six hours just to catch a glimpse of the southpaw. Even quite a lot of young kids turned up to watch the U19 red ball game in Beckenham after his exploits in the IPL 2025 season and the U19 Youth ODI series. Peacock also stated that in his interaction with a lot of fans and experts, they term the RR opener as the next Tendulkar or Kohli.
"The people I have spoken to in the game - I think we have all the same feeling. We have watched and witnessed a young star in the making, something very special. I would go as far as to say he is probably the best 14-year-old in any sport that I have seen live. I think the sentiment in England is that we are watching a very special young boy playing cricket - the expectation is Tendulkar-Kohli-level, or even beyond," said Peacock.
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