'Sooryavanshi as good as Sachin, Virat but...': Kapil Dev delivers brutal verdict on Vaibhav's comparison with legends

India legend Kapil Dev has said that in terms of talent Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is as good as the greats of Indian cricket like Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli. However, the 1983-World Cup winner has also asked fans and experts to give the 15-year-old prodigy time before hyping him up too much.

Fans have been asking for India to let Sooryavanshi make his international debut but India have not given him a chance so far in the two matches against Ireland and the series opener against England.

Kapil praised Sooryavanshi as a bright talent but said that he still has a lot to prove.

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Sooryavanshi still has lot to prove

Sooryavanshi clobbered the best of the bowlers for sixes at the recent Indian Premier League where he finished as the highest run-getter at a mind-boggling strike rate of over 237. He won several awards in what was his first full IPL season. The 15-year-old was rewarded with a call-up to the senior India team. However, he has been sitting on the bench despite fans wanting him in the Playing XI.

Kapil, the captain of the 1983 World Cup-winning team said that there was no doubt over Sooryavanshi's talent but he also said that he is being hyped too much.

"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 Dev said in an interview to Sports Tak.

Kapil also compared Sooryavanshi to the legends of the game but said that he needs to prove himself in other formats as well.

"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," he added.

"He is fabulous in T20s. You would not find even one per cent of players making such an impact at such a tender age," the former India captain said.

Talking about his potential debut, Kapil said, "We can talk about Sachin because he too was very young when we played him. We kept thinking if it was too early, but if you look at history, you fear you might be too late. If he is ready, don't count his age, count his ability," the former India captain said."