Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has created history after scoring his maiden international half-century against Zimbabwe. The youthful Indian prodigy scored 50 runs off 19 balls against Zimbabwe on Thursday (July 23).
His fifty in just 18 deliveries has now made him the 6th fastest Indian to the milestone, and became the youngest to a T20I fifty.
But former India women's captain Anjum Chopra believes the external attention on Vaibhav is unnecessary, and it can often derail the focus.
The 15-year-old was fast-tracked to the Indian team after his heroics for Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2026. And after three underwhelming outings against England, there were doubts over his chances against Zimbabwe. Amid the faith shown by the team management, Chopra believes the discussion
around him is a bit too much.
"I personally think there is far too much attention on whether Vaibhav Sooryavanshi should be picked or not. If he isn't picked, it's a discussion. If he is picked, it's a discussion. If he scores runs, it's a discussion. If he doesn't score runs, it's still a discussion. I don't understand why there's so much discussion around one player. Either we're talking about Vaibhav Sooryavanshi or Rohit Sharma, and if we have time, then we'll talk about Virat Kohli. I just don't think it's required," the India stalwart said to MyKhel in an exclusive interview a day before the Zimbabwe series.
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"There have been so many players who have come into the Indian team. Even Sachin Tendulkar was very young when he started, and we all know Vaibhav has immense talent. But I don't understand why there's constant discussion around this young boy. Let him just be a player. Whether he scores a hundred or gets out for zero, he is still an India player. Every time it's the same debate - whether he should play or not, why he got a chance, why he wasn't given a chance, or why he got out. Personally, I'm not a fan of discussing just one player all the time," she further said to this website.
Sooryavanhi, though, has got the taste of blood. The generational prodigy has been known for his serial scoring, and his latest knock against Zimbabwe must have infused confidence, which is likely to drive him forward as he looks to put in a strong show in the ongoing series.
