India, Sept. 26 -- Vaibhav Sooryavanshi may not be a regular part of India's Playing XI right now, but in two years, he has done enough to make himself a national sensation. Scratch that. Worldwide sensation. He may be the most popular 15-year-old sportsman; only Lamine Yamal has a larger following, given football's popularity. But as far as cricket goes, Sooryavanshi is right up there, with no one coming close to the rage he has become.

Sooryavanshi has shared the dressing room with most of India's T20 World Cup-winning cricketers. And his ascendancy means competition for others. Sanju Samson might be Sooryavanshi's direct competition, but one of his captains, Dhruv Jurel, who has been piling the runs for India in Tests, feels the teena...