India’s abundance of talent in cricket can be gauged from the fact that the side has won the U-19 World Cup six times, the most by any team.
The latest win came in the 2026 edition when Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s brilliance helped India beat England by 100 runs in the final. Sooryavanshi scored 175 off just 80 balls in the match and was named Player of the Match in the title clash. It was not only Sooryavanshi who flourished in the tournament; Ayush Mhatre, Henil Patel and RS Ambrish also performed well.
The U-19 World Cup may be over, but the Indian team members are continuing to impress. Take, for example, fast bowler Deepesh Devendran. The right-arm pacer is currently playing for Madurai Panthers in the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL). Playing against Trichy Grand Cholas on Wednesday, Devendran clocked 146 kmph with one of his deliveries. In fact, he consistently clocked speeds of over 140 kmph.
The 18-year-old’s father also played domestic cricket for Tamil Nadu.
Meanwhile, Sooryavanshi has been backed by Jos Buttler to break his record for the most T20 runs. England star Buttler, who surpassed West Indies legend Kieron Pollard to become the leading run-scorer in T20 history on Wednesday, backed the teenage Indian batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi to surpass the record one day.
Buttler climbed to the summit of T20 cricket during his side Manchester Super Giants’ (MSG) match against Welsh Fire in The Hundred Men’s competition, scoring a quickfire 51* off 20 balls, with two fours and six sixes at a strike rate of 250.00.
In 522 T20s, Buttler has now scored 14,833 runs, with nine centuries and 105 fifties, surpassing Pollard (14,803 runs in 746 matches with two centuries) and long-time record holder Chris Gayle (14,562 runs in 463 matches with 22 centuries and 88 fifties).
After setting the record, Buttler, as quoted by Cricinfo from Sky Sports, said he was proud to become the highest run-scorer in T20 cricket but added that the record would eventually be broken, and that the likely person to surpass it could be Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.
“It’s really cool, actually, to think you’ve got the most T20 runs out of anyone. Someone will surpass it one day, and his name’s probably [Vaibhav] Sooryavanshi, but it’s a proud moment,” Buttler told Sky Sports, as quoted by Cricinfo.
At just 15, Sooryavanshi enjoyed a remarkable run in T20I cricket, scoring 151 runs in three matches against Zimbabwe to claim his maiden Player of the Series award as India completed a 3-0 clean sweep. His success came on the back of a stellar ICC Men’s Under-19 Cricket World Cup campaign earlier this year, where he amassed 439 runs and was named Player of the Tournament, further highlighting his immense potential.