India’s former captain Sunil Gavaskar has asked fans and experts to slow down the excitement around young cricket stars like Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Ayush Mhatre as India prepares for the U19 World Cup 2026. Gavaskar warned that too much fame at an early age can put unwanted pressure on young players.
In his Mid-Day column, Gavaskar wrote, “It is too early to call anybody a sensation, as time and again it has been seen that there is a huge gap between Under-19 cricket and first-class cricket, not to speak of international cricket.”
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is already creating headlines with his fearless batting. The 14-year-old shocked the cricketing world by hitting a six on the first ball of his IPL career and later smashed a stunning 35-ball century in just his third match of IPL 2025. He is also the youngest player to score a List A century and the fastest to score 150 runs in the ODI format.
However, Gavaskar also pointed out the dangers of careless batting, especially after India U19 lost the Asia Cup final against Pakistan U19 by 191 runs. He wrote, “Some of the batters playing IPL and those picked for this season’s IPL batted as if the opposition attack was nothing and tried to hit straightaway and lost their wickets.”
He further added how seniors should guide youngsters, “Yes, it’s a young group, inexperienced too and that’s why it’s important for a senior player and mentor to tell them that however ordinary the attack, one mistake can mean you are back in the dugout. Let’s hope that they forget thoughts of IPL and focus on the job at hand and that is to win the Trophy once again. Go for it youngsters.”
In the ongoing U-19 Men’s World Cup, India have secured two wins out of two games so far.
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