Woorkeri Raman, a former Indian opener, has made a major claim for Vaibhav Suryavanshi ahead of the U19 World Cup 2026, which will be held by Zimbabwe and Namibia. Raman said that the teenager’s participation in the tournament could be detrimental to his development, despite his ability to win matches, and proposed that he be promoted to the senior team.
The southpaw is one of the players to watch out for in the tournament and has impressed in IPL 2025 and also while playing for India A. Suryavanshi, who was bought by Rajasthan Royals for ₹1.2 crore before IPL 2025, scored 252 runs in seven matches at a strike rate of 206.55 and an average of 36. The 14-year-old also had a stellar U19 ODI series against South Africa in India, with the bat hitting 190 for Bihar in their Vijay Hazare Trophy encounter against Arunachal Pradesh.
Raman told X that the big picture should be kept in mind, considering the star batter’s immense talent.
“This could be an unpopular opinion.#Suryavanshi has performed extremely well in the A series and the IPL. Making him play at the U-19 level is likely to be detrimental to his growth. He may win matches no doubt, but it should be always be about the big picture,” he wrote.
The southpaw scored 96 runs off 50 deliveries against Scotland in the U19 World Cup warm-up match, but was dismissed for one against England.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi shines with ball but falls cheaply in India’s U19 World Cup opener
India opened their account with a comprehensive six-wicket win against the USA at Bulawayo’s Queens Sports Club. Right-arm medium bowler Henil Patel was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 7-1-16-5. Suryavnashi, Deepesh Devendran, RS Ambrish, and Khilan Patel also claimed one wicket apiece, which led to the USA being bowled out for 107.
With Suryavanshi gone for two runs, India were still three wickets down before sealing the win. Because of rain, bowlers were unable to bowl more than 17.2 overs. India won by 118 balls according to the DLS method.
