IPL 2026: Don’t tag Vaibhav Sooryavanshi as the next Sachin Tendulkar, says Dinesh Karthik

New Delhi, May 21 : Former India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik has cautioned against burdening teenage batting prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi with comparisons to the legendary Sachin Tendulkar, stressing that the youngster’s challenges will be unique.

Representing the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, left-handed opener Sooryavanshi has scored 579 runs in 13 matches and is leading the run-scoring charts with a staggering strike rate of 236.32.

"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. I think what Sachin did was extraordinary. Vaibhav's challenges will be completely different.

“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," said Karthik in an upcoming episode of the Quest Talk podcast by iQOO.

Karthik, currently the batting coach and mentor of defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru, also spoke about the evolution of the IPL from 2008 to now. "IPL, from its start to what it is today, is a completely different beast, and it's like the sport has grown on steroids because a lot of things have changed.

“The amount of data and matrix used has been quite phenomenal; it's the fastest-growing format that ever existed, and it's a lifestyle provider for a lot of people. And it seems like a very strong career option for any young boy or girl choosing to play the sport. And it's competing with other sports tournaments in the world in a very short period of time," he added.