'Going to have ups and downs': England star issues reality check for Sooryavanshi

England all-rounder Sam Curran has described Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's rise to the Indian team as an “incredible story”, saying the 15-year-old has earned the attention coming his way, while hoping England can keep him quiet if he makes his international debut in the ongoing T20I series.The cricket world has been waiting for Sooryavanshi's India debut ever since he was picked for the tour of the UK following his performances for Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2026. Speaking to the media ahead of the second T20I, Curran said he had followed Sooryavanshi closely during the IPL.“I guess it's an incredible story. I watched a lot of the IPL for a month, and I was just watching this guy, he looks so easy. It’s truly incredible and it's rightly so, getting the attention he deserves.“He's so raw and he's just having the time of his life, isn't he? Playing for India at 15 years old is such a cool story and I think even as opposition, you've got to admire the skill and things like that,” Curran said.Curran believes England's conditions could present a different challenge for the youngster.“I think England will probably be a different challenge, the pitches are very different, a lot slower than in India. Guys can have their plans and all this kind of thing.“So I guess, we will have our plans, of course, but I'm not saying they're the right plans, you never know because he's playing really well."But at the end of the day, I'll try and execute my skills, but there's no doubt that he's pretty special for what he's doing,” he said.Sooryavanshi finished IPL 2026 as the tournament's highest run-scorer, scoring 776 runs at a strike rate of over 230.Curran also said handling the attention that comes with playing for India could be Sooryavanshi's biggest challenge.“I think being an Indian cricketer in India is probably much bigger than we are. So I think that'll probably be his biggest challenge, how he handles that. He has played one or two IPL seasons and is straight into the Indian squad now. I'm sure he's got people around him trying to help him. But I guess you never know until he's given his debut and see how he goes.“I'm sure he's going to have ups and downs like anybody else, but as a cricket player, you've got to enjoy what he's doing because it is pretty cool. At 15 years old, I think I was just knocking in the Surrey indoor school.”Get the latest Sports News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.