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Vaibhav Suryavanshi has received praise from former South African captain Graeme Smith for his fearless batting amid the Sri Lanka controversy. Smith has described Vaibhav Suryavanshi as one of the most exciting young T20 talents.
The former South Africa captain believes that Vaibhav has done something special at such a young age and has generated so much enthusiasm that people have started noticing his talent. However, Manoj Tiwari issued a stern warning to Vaibhav Suryavanshi.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s dreams continue to rise
Vaibhav Suryavanshi caught everyone’s attention during his first IPL season with Rajasthan Royals in 2025. He played aggressively and later became the Indian batsman to score the fastest century in IPL history. His powerful hitting and fearless approach made him one of the biggest stars of the tournament.
The teenage batting sensation continued his incredible form and scored an incredible 175 off just 80 balls in the ICC Under-19 World Cup final. And then came their record-breaking IPL 2026 season.
He scored 776 runs in the tournament at an average of 44.69 and an impressive strike rate of 237.30 and was called up for India for the first time for the T20I series in Ireland and England. The left-hander was also selected for the 2026 Asian Games in Japan.
Graeme Smith declares Vaibhav Suryavanshi as the best T20 talent since 2007
Graeme Smith acknowledged the fact that Vaibhav Suryavanshi has caught the attention of the cricket world and everyone is just talking about the Indian talent. The South African legend was really impressed by Vaibhav’s ability to hit the ball around the ground.
He explained that bowlers have tried different schemes against the teenagers, including short balls, but they have found ways to attack all types of bowling and the bowlers have little room for mistakes. Smith believes that Vaibhav is the best T20 batting talent he has seen since the format became popular in 2007 due to his exceptional and consistent power-hitting.
Wisden quoted Graeme Smith as saying, “It’s the nature of cricket where everyone keeps doubting, ‘Let’s see him do it outside India.’ Let’s see him do the same in international cricket.”
“But I have never seen a player who has been so consistent in power hitting against the best players in the world. There have been some incredible prospects in different formats of the game over the years, but I cannot remember a better batting prospect since the introduction of T20 around 2007.”
Graeme Smith praises India’s courageous glory Suryavanshi at the age of just 15
With the next T20 World Cup still some time away, the SA20 League Commissioner praised the Indian selectors’ decision to bring Vaibhav into the national team at just 15 years of age, calling it a ‘bold but smart’ move.
Smith further explained, “It’s an interesting selection from India and bold for a team that has just won the World Cup to make big, bold decisions. I think it’s smart. There are two years between World Cups, and they are giving their young talent the best opportunity to play as many games as possible before the next World Cup.”
He concluded by saying, “They are blessed with talent, but I think the selectors have shown courage and foresight. You may not be able to win everything at first, but the plan has to be ready for two years’ time, and I think that is a point of consideration for other countries.”