Sam Curran praises Sooryavanshi but says England will be sterner test

England all-rounder Sam Curran found 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's India selection an "incredible story" but hoped to contain the explosive teen genius if his debut happens against the Three Lions in the ongoing five-match T20I series.

The cricketing world has been waiting impatiently for Sooryavanshi's international debut since his entry into the India squad for the UK tour, riding on a stunning outing in the IPL 2026 for Rajasthan Royals.

"I guess it's an incredible story. I watched a lot of the IPL for a month, and I was just watching this guy, he looks so easy. It's truly incredible and it's rightly so, getting the attention he deserves," Curran told the media on the eve of the second T20I against India here.

 

"He's so raw and he's just having the time of his life, isn't he? Playing for India at 15 years old is such a cool story and I think even as opposition, you've got to admire the skill and things like that," he added.

But Curran said playing in England could offer Sooryavanshi a different challenge in terms of pitches and conditions.

"I think England will probably be a different challenge, the pitches are very different, a lot slower than in India. Guys can have their plans and all this kind of thing," he said.

Curran might have been alluding to Sooryavanshi's bull run in the IPL where he emerged the top-scorer this year with 776 runs at a strike-rate upwards of 230.

"So I guess, we will have our plans, of course, but I'm not saying they're the right plans, you never know because he's playing really well.

"But at the end of the day, I'll try and execute my skills, but there's no doubt that he's pretty special for what he's doing," he said.

However, Curran cautioned Sooryavanshi to stay grounded amidst all the extreme adulations he attracts as an Indian cricketer.

"I think being an Indian cricketer in India is probably much bigger than we are. So I think that'll probably be his biggest challenge, how he handles that. He has played one or two IPL seasons and is straight into the Indian squad now. I'm sure he's got people around him trying to help him. But I guess you never know until he's given his debut and see how he goes.

"I'm sure he's going to have ups and downs like anybody else, but as a cricket player, you've got to enjoy what he's doing because it is pretty cool. At 15 years old, I think I was just knocking in the Surrey indoor school."  Curran hoped that Sooryavanshi would exploit his full potential.

"So it is pretty cool, but, hopefully, he can just keep his head down. I'll just love watching him, and hopefully it's not against my bowling.

"But it's just pretty cool and hopefully for India's sake he can keep doing really well, but hopefully against us it doesn't happen as good," he added.