Brathwaite Backs Sooryavanshi for Brian Lara-Style Development Path

Rajasthan Royals (RR) batter, Sooryavanshi, wreaked havoc on bowlers in the Indian Premier League (IPL) match against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Saturday, smashing a 37-ball 103, with five fours and 12 sixes at a strike rate of 278.38. With the century, he also became the youngest and the fastest to reach the 1,000-run mark in T20 cricket.

While RR eventually lost the game to SRH, Sooryavanshi's innings was another display of the vast potential that he possesses. After the match, Brathwaite, while speaking on ESPNcricinfo's TimeOut show, said that Sooryavanshi should follow a development path similar to Brian Lara.

He explained that Lara was identified early as a special talent and trained alongside senior players like Vivian Richards before making his international debut at 21. Brathwaite suggested India should similarly keep Sooryavanshi around the senior squad to learn and develop, without rushing him into international cricket.

"I apologise, Vaibhav, but if you look at how West Indies handled Brian Lara... he was a generational talent, everyone knew. So what did the West Indies do? They put him in the mix with Viv Richards and whatnot, but he didn't play [international cricket]. That was a different time with loads of tour games, and he cut his teeth with the senior players without having made his debut. And then we know how his career went once he debuted." Brathwaite said on ESPNcricinfo's TimeOut show.

Brathwaite suggested a balanced approach for Sooryavanshi -- keeping him around the Indian team so he can learn from senior players like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Suryakumar Yadav, as well as younger teammates, instead of rushing him straight into international cricket.

"So maybe there is the best of both worlds - where you can have him with the Indian team - learn from Virat [Kohli], learn from Rohit [Sharma], learn from Suryakumar Yadav. There are younger players that are close to him in age that he can learn from, before just throwing him in the deep end," he said.

Former Indian cricketer-turned-commentator Deep Dasgupta, on the other hand, said that while Sooryavanshi has the technical skill to compete at the top level, his mental readiness is still uncertain. He warned that young talents can lose their way and stressed the need to handle Sooryavanshi carefully, ensuring he is mentally prepared before pushing him into the Indian side.

"We've seen some really good talents go a little bit awry. People talk about 'he should be in the Indian side' and fair enough. But there are two sides to this story and two major things you need: technical acumen and mental acumen. Technically, he's there - we've seen how he has played against the top bowlers of the world. So we know he can handle the technical side of it. But the mental side of it - he will have his ups and downs. Now, whether he is ready mentally to handle it or not... we have to be a little careful on how to handle it," Dasgupta said.

Sooryavanshi is currently the third-highest run-getter in the IPL 2026 season with 357 runs to his name in eight innings at a strike rate of 234.87.

- ANI