'Boy wonder' Vaibhav Sooryavanshi predicted to surpass Kohli and Sachin's success by career's end: 'He's a treasure'

Former South African pacer Dale Steyn made a bold prophecy on 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, saying he would surpass Indian cricket icons Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli's success by the end of his career.

Vaibhav had an astonishing run in IPL 2026, scoring 776 runs to bag the Orange Cap, and the left-hander has subsequently been included in Team India's T20 squad for the Ireland and England tours.

'Vaibhav would be bigger than Sachin & Virat at his career end'

Steyn predicted a historic career trajectory for Vaibhav, saying that he is an extraordinary young talent already delivering at a level ahead of most international cricketers. He also described him as a 'boy wonder' and a 'treasure' for India.

"Sooryavanshi is a different gravy, man! He's better than most international players right now. He is a boy wonder, somebody who is a treasure for Indian cricket.

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"You think of guys like Sachin, Virat, and this kid is going to explode. He's going to be bigger than both of them put together at the end of his career," Steyn said while speaking to a select media gathering during an interaction facilitated by SA20 in the lead-up to Season 5.

Steyn also emphasised the need to protect the young talent to ensure his career longevity.

"I would caution how you manage him and look after him because with great responsibility comes great reward. But there's a big threat there that you could lose him at some point if you don't look after him well enough," he added.

Steyn analyses how Vaibhav can be stopped

So, what makes the 15-year-old the most noticed batter in contemporary cricket? "He's a fantastic ball striker. I've watched him play in India where the wickets are good. The fields are slightly smaller, just slightly. And with the wickets as good as they are, he's exploited that really well. He's a very good player who can do that."

However, Steyn, who has 699 international scalps, thought Sooryavanshi can be stopped if bowlers can instil a bit of "fear factor" in the left-hander.

"I think (Kagiso) Rabada bowled at him well. You've got to test him upstairs, and he's still young, he's only 14-15, and if you can throw a little bit of fear factor into the game, I mean, cricket is a fear factor game.

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"… if you go into the game scared, if you're fearing somebody, not for your life, but even just fear bowling to them or fear facing them, fear can make you do silly things. So, the short ball towards him is probably a good option," he added.

Vaibhav is currently in action for India A in the one-day tri-series in Sri Lanka and will eventually join Team India for the upcoming UK tour, starting with the Ireland series on Friday, June 26.

(With PTI Inputs)