Vaibhav Sooryavanshi must focus on red-ball career for future of Test cricket: Rahul Dravid

Legendary India batter Rahul Dravid feels Vaibhav Sooryavanshi also needs to grow his red-ball career alongside his white-ball success. Sooryavanshi has made giant strides in his professional career over the past few months, helping India win the Under-19 World Cup, winning the Orange Cap among other awards at the Indian Premier League 2026 and becoming the youngest Indian debutant ever.

However, he has featured in just eight first-class matches so far, scoring 207 runs at an average of 17.25. Dravid feels that it’s important for him to find that balance and play red-ball cricket in the Indian domestic system.

"I think you always have to find that balance. And I think it's a great thing that Vaibhav is getting the experience of playing some white-ball cricket through the IPL in India, but he's also having the time to go back and play red-ball cricket in the Indian domestic system and grow his red-ball career,” Dravid was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.

Dravid said that it’s important for players like Sooryavanshi to play Test cricket for the longevity of the format.

"All of us also want to see Test cricket survive, all of us want to see Test cricket grow, and we need players like him to be able to hopefully play all formats of the game. He's only 15 and I think you've got to just give him some time and you've got to be patient with him. He's obviously been such a success straightaway, right, but he's going to go through his ups and downs and I think people are going to have to be patient with him,” he added.

Sooryavanshi will be playing for East Zone in the upcoming Duleep Trophy 2026-27. He’s likely to get a run of two straight games or three if East Zone make the final. The southpaw could also feature for India A against Australia A in two unofficial Tests in September.

Dravid also said that while Sooryavanshi may be undergoing a successful period in his career so far, he’s going to have some failures along the way too but it’s important for everyone to be patient with him.

Vaibhav becoming a Test player will be exciting for the game: Dravid

"I think he's going to have some success but he also might have periods where it probably doesn't work out well for him. But let's all remember he's only 15 and he has a long way to go. So Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, by not playing in T20 competitions all over the world, is actually playing in the red-ball Indian domestic competition. He's growing, he's getting better at red-ball skills,” Dravid said.

"Hopefully someday if he does well and performs well like he has in white-ball cricket, he might become a red-ball player for India. And how exciting that would be for the world game as well,” he concluded.

Meanwhile, Sooryavanshi recently featured in the three-match T20I series against Zimbabwe, where he scored his maiden fifty in international cricket and played a blistering knock of 81 (49) in the third T20I. He will be next seen in the Asian Games men’s cricket competition.