Star England batter Jos Buttler has praised India’s 14-year-old sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi, calling him the best player he has ever witnessed. Buttler’s remarks come ahead of IPL 2026, scheduled to start on March 26. Vaibhav recently shone in the U19 World Cup 2026, where India defeated England by 100 runs in the final on February 6 in Harare.
The young southpaw stole the spotlight with a stunning 175 off just 80 balls, including 15 fours and 15 sixes. His remarkable performance earned him both the Player of the Match and Player of the Tournament awards, having scored 439 runs in seven innings, with three fifties and a century.
On February 10, speaking on the YouTube podcast For The Love Of Cricket, Buttler revealed he watched the World Cup final on TV and admired Vaibhav’s batting, saying he played some of the finest shots he had ever seen.
“I was watching it on TV, just thinking, these are not just any old shots; they’re some of the best shots you’ve ever seen. My statement is, he’s the best player I’ve ever seen, because I’m like, how? Who else was doing this at 14 years old? If he’s doing that at 14, what’s he going to be doing at 16, 18, 20?”
“He Hit His First IPL Ball For Six!” – Jos Buttler On Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s Brilliance
In the same video, Jos Buttler remarked that if Vaibhav hadn’t already displayed his skills in the IPL, many might have brushed it off as just a U19 World Cup performance and waited to judge him in senior cricket. He added:
“And, you know, if he hadn’t played in the IPL, you’d say, “Oh, he’s only done it in the Under-19 World Cup, and yes, it’s amazing, but let’s see when he steps up to senior cricket.” But he’s already played, he’s got 100 in the IPL. He hit his first ball in the IPL for six. You could arguably say it wasn’t methodical, he just swung and played amazing.”
“But in the game he got 70-odd, it was like against Chennai, and Ashwin and Jadeja were bowling, and he whacked one for six, then sort of tapped one off his hip and trotted down the other end like a seasoned pro, just seeing his team home.”
In IPL 2025, the opener played seven games for Rajasthan Royals (RR), amassing 252 runs at an average of 36.00 and a striking strike rate of 206.55, including a fifty and a century.
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