Ever since the young Vaibhav Suryavanshi made his groundbreaking IPL debut last season, calls for his selection in the Indian national team are only growing louder. At age 14, Suryavanshi shattered several records, thus establishing himself as the next big thing in world cricket. On April 28, the teenager scripted history by becoming the youngest player to score a century in the IPL, at 14 years and 32 days old, slamming a jaw-dropping 101 off 38 balls against a seasoned Gujarat Titans lineup.  What made his knock more special was the fact that it went down into the record books as the second-fastest century in IPL history, only behind Chris Gayle and Yusuf Pathan. 

Before the start of the season, Suryavanshi had already started making waves when he was picked for a whopping ₹1.10 crore (from a base price of ₹30 lakhs) at the IPL 2025 mega auction by RR. While many questioned whether it was the right move from the franchise, Suryavanshi managed to answer his critics just in time and justified his hefty price tag on the back of some incredible performances. 

So early in his career, fans have already started drawing a comparison between him and the legendary Sachin Tendulkar, who, at a similar age, also began making headlines before becoming the most iconic player in world cricket. While the future for the 14-year-old appears bright, the former Indian spinner and BCCI selector Venkatapathy Raju has a different opinion.

See also: [WATCH] Vaibhav Suryavanshi's parents first on camera after their son's heroic century

Suryavanshi has a long way to go before he comes good for Indian cricket

At a time when comparisons between him and Sachin are rapidly surging on social media, Raju thinks it is probably not the right time to give the youngster a go in Indian colours this early in his career. Raju, who served as the BCCI selector for India's 2007 World T20 squad, recognizes the incredible talent he possesses but stresses that the youngster will need to grind hard at the domestic and the U-19 levels. 

"Yes, yes, he will take a lot of time. He has to be one of those guys who need to perform well in the U-19 World Cups. He has to perform quite a bit in domestic cricket. Four-day games. And we can give time. See, talent-wise, we've already seen him, what he can do with a white ball, right?"

Additionally, Raju also dismissed comparisons between him and Tendulkar, stating that the latter demonstrated his worth by toiling hard at the FC level before making big for India at a young age.

"It depends on the consistency, right? We're a firm believer. We might talk about somebody like Sachin, right? First, Ranji Trophy debut, he got 100. Duleep Trophy, he got 100. Rest of India, he got 100, right? All three-day games. All four-day games. All five-day games. So, like that, I think when you know the talent, we should give him enough time to go and play, do well, and you feel that he's really good enough and he can perform, why not? We can still bring him in." 

Suryavanshi is currently training with the India U-19 team in England, curiously looking to leave behind a good impression. Suryavanshi has a long road ahead of him, and to be able to don the Indian jersey, the 14-year-old will have to impress the selectors by consistently performing in multi-day games at the domestic level, which can certainly be a lot demanding on a physical and mental front.