After much anticipation and a delay that felt longer than it actually was, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi finally made his India debut in the second T20I against England at Manchester’s Old Trafford on Saturday, becoming the youngest player to represent India in international cricket.The 15-year-old boy from Bihar’s Samastipur district broke a Sachin Tendulkar Nearly 37 years. Tendulkar made his debut for India at the age of 16 years and 205 days. Sooryavanshi accomplished this task at the age of 15 years and 99 days.These similarities begin and end with their ages.From Tendulkar’s debut in Karachi to Sooryavanshi’s Indian cricket debut in Manchester, the story of how Indian cricket and the world around it has changed.Also read: Bethell breaks Indian hearts on Sooryavanshi’s historic debut; England lead 1-0 Tendulkar brought a game based on defense and timing, influenced by Mumbai’s batting tradition. Sooryavanshi grew up in the T20 era, where attacking from the first ball was the norm and expectation. The stage around them is also very different.When Tendulkar made his debut against Pakistan in Karachi in November 1989, Indian television viewers saw grainy footage on their televisions. From the moment he arrived in England, Soriyavanshi’s every move was tracked by high-definition cameras.Tendulkar made his debut in the attack that featured Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Abdul Qadir.The world outside cricket is different too.The Berlin Wall still stands. The Soviet Union still exists. Rajiv Gandhi was the Prime Minister of India until he stepped down weeks later following the Lok Sabha elections. Economic liberalization under Manmohan Singh is still more than a year away.Tendulkar belonged to the floppy disk era. Sooryavanshi belongs to a generation that has grown up with artificial intelligence.The same has happened in Indian cricket.When Tendulkar made his debut, India was still establishing its place in world cricket. Over the next three decades, the sport became one of the biggest sports properties in the country, and Tendulkar was at the heart of that rise. Soriyavanshi joined the Indian team that was formed in subsequent years.Not since Tendulkar has a teenage cricketer attracted such attention. Since arriving in England, Sooryavanshi has been surrounded by fans looking for selfies.The biggest difference, however, is how fame works now.At the time of Tendulkar’s debut, the internet was not yet a part of daily life in India. Nowadays, almost everyone has a smartphone. Every moment is captured, recorded and shared instantly. The line between public figures and public property is becoming increasingly thin.Sooryavanshi’s journey to India has just begun, but the path he is taking is very different from the one Tendulkar first embarked on in 1989.
