Former India wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik has warned against comparing teenage batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi to batting great Sachin Tendulkar, saying the 15-year-old should not be burdened with such expectations so early in his career.
Sooryavanshi has been one of the standout performers of IPL 2026 for Rajasthan Royals. The left-handed opener has scored 579 runs in 13 matches and leads the run charts with a strike rate of 236.32.
Speaking in an upcoming episode of the Quest Talk podcast by iQOO, Karthik said comparisons with Sachin were unnecessary despite the youngster’s remarkable performances.
“What Vaibhav is doing is very special, but what I don’t want the people to do is tag him as the next Sachin because he is just 15 years old and doing what he is doing,” Karthik said.
“I think what Sachin did was extraordinary. Vaibhav’s challenges will be completely different.”
Karthik said young cricketers today face far more off-field pressure because of social media and public attention.
“Sachin’s challenges would have been as much on the field as they were off the field, but Vaibhav’s challenges will definitely be more off-field, because he possesses a lot of cricketing skills, dealing with everything that comes outside the sport,” he added.
