Sachin Tendulkar believes Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s dazzling first IPL season should be enjoyed rather than over-analysed. Speaking after receiving a lifetime batting award in Mumbai on Thursday, the former India captain described the 15-year-old as “truly special” but warned against cutting and shaping the youngster too quickly.
“Everyone is talking about Sooryavanshi, and I watched him bat – it was magnificent,” Tendulkar said. “I mean he is something truly special. And not just the ability to hit the ball, but what also fascinated me was the wrist work that he has.”
Sooryavanshi’s numbers explain the growing excitement. Turning out for Rajasthan Royals, he plundered 776 runs at a strike-rate of 237.31, the highest ever for a batter who has faced at least 300 balls in a season. He sent 72 deliveries over the boundary, eclipsing Chris Gayle’s long-standing record of 59 sixes. For context, a strike-rate above 150 is considered explosive in the T20 format; Sooryavanshi sat nearly 90 runs clear of that mark.
Tendulkar, rarely one for gushing praise, highlighted the teenager’s ability to play 360-degree shots – the modern shorthand for hitting anywhere from fine leg to third man. He also stressed that the teenager is not simply slogging.
“To be able to play in all directions of the ground, you need good wrist work. And he is not slogging the ball. He is just picking the line and length earlier than the rest of the guys and he is able to clear the rope comfortably.”
The conversation soon turned to longer-format ambitions. Some pundits have already pencilled the left-hander into India’s Test plans, yet Tendulkar was keen to slow that narrative.
“I would tell him to just be himself,” he said. “There is always a first time. In Test cricket, along with age, he will learn how to deal with various challenges. [It’s about] having a solution-oriented mindset. Problems are always going to be there. Problems will be there till the last day of your career, till the last ball you face. The bowler is asking a question every ball. Now, what solutions do you find? He’s kind of a player who looks very confident, very, very sure of what he wants to do and I would not want to play around with his natural instincts.”
That natural instinct, Tendulkar feels, is central to Sooryavanshi’s success.
“The way he sees the ball and the way he responds to that, if that signal is interrupted – if you put a lot of hurdles in between that by telling him multiple things – that’s where the real challenge would be. I would give him the freedom to go out and bat the way he does. Along with time, he will learn to deal with other challenges of the game.”
Selectors, he argued, should ignore the noise surrounding the youngster.
“Not just me, but everyone would want to see him [playing Test cricket] at some stage. I don’t know when that is going to happen. But an exciting talent needs encouragement. And if he’s doing well, then we need to encourage and support him and enjoy above all and not put pressure on him constantly, you know, he should play this, or he shouldn’t be doing this, or he should be picked in whatever squad. Leave that to the guys [selectors] who are responsible for that.”
A measured stance, but not a dampener. Even with India’s century-old love affair with prodigies, a 15-year-old outmuscling seasoned professionals for six weeks will always turn heads. The key message from one of the game’s greatest minds is simplicity: let the kid bat, let the kid learn, and try not to overcomplicate a gift that looks, for now, refreshingly uncomplicated.
