In his long journey to becoming an Indian cricket superstar, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi got an important lesson on Monday. The 15-year-old wonderkid did something that is not acceptable.
Sri Lanka A players sledged him after they beat India A, and Sooryavanshi took the bait. He went and pushed a player. A physical altercation in a sport like cricket is never desirable. After the match ended, a legend in Sri Lanka cricket was waiting to meet Sooryavanshi. Anura Tennekoon, Sri Lanka’s first ODI captain, is an admirer of Sooryavanshi. And what he said was just the advice that Sooryavanshi needed after the flare-up.
“You focus on your game and cut out the outside noise,” Tennekoon told him, as quoted by Sportstar.
“Today, unfortunately, you couldn’t get going. But that’s part of the game, you can’t get going every day.”
Although Tennekoon spoke those lines as a general observation, they held extra significance after a tough day on the field for Sooryavanshi.
Sooryavanshi was involved in a heated argument that almost led to a physical confrontation with a Sri Lanka A player after an ill-tempered end to the tri-series contest, which India A lost following a Super Over. Needing 17 to win in the Super Over, India managed only nine runs against slinger Kaguthas Mathulan to lose their second game in a row.
Sooryavanshi, who faced the last three deliveries from Mathulan, managed only six runs, including a boundary.
Once the match got over, the Lankan team was involved in a bit of over-the-top celebrations as Sooryavanshi and his partner Suryansh Shedge were seen walking back towards the pavilion.
However, TV cameras caught Sooryavanshi angrily charging towards the tall fast bowler Mathulan, and one of his teammates, Vishen Halambage, came in between. The trigger, in all likelihood, was something that the bowler said after successfully stopping the 15-year-old for three deliveries.
Sooryavanshi was seen pushing the fielder, who in turn tried to charge towards him. It was senior Sri Lankan international Niroshan Dickwella who came in between to stop the matter from going out of hand.
As Sooryavanshi trudged back towards the pavilion, he looked visibly angry after India failed to chase the target under fading light.