With his record breaking IPL. Indian teenage batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was expected to take international cricket by storm.
While Sooryavanshi was selected for the Indian tour to Ireland and England, Sooryavanshi scored 42 runs in three T20I matches during the tour. The 15-year-old also broke Sachin Tendulkar’s long held record of being the youngest Indian cricketer with his debut against England in the second T20I against England at. Manchester. Former Indian captain Ajinkya Rahane has shared how he wants the world to let the young cricketer play his game and let him grow. Rahane, who recently announced his retirement from cricket earlier this month, was speaking on Stick to Cricket Podcast and was asked by former England skipper Michael Vaughan on Sooryavanshi being included in Indian Test team.
“It’s tough to say or comment right now. I don’t want to say anything and put pressure on that young kid. Because people are already talking a lot about him, a lot about him. It’s just two IPL seasons. What I’ve realised is that IPL and international cricket are completely different. The pressure when you represent your country is enormous. Just for a small example, chasing 70 runs in IPL in 4, 5 overs, it’s easy. Chasing the same amount of runs in international cricket, when you are representing your country is different. So let him just play his game, let him grow,” Rahane said on the podcast Stick to Cricket Podcast while speaking with former England captain Michael Vaughan.
Last year Sooryavanshi had become the youngest cricketer to score a hundred in IPL with his hundred against Gujarat Giants. After guiding India U-19 to the U-19 world title earlier this year with his knock of 175 runs against England in the final, Sooryavanshi scored 776 runs in 16 innings this IPL at a strike rate of 237.30. The Bihar cricketer had become the first uncapped player ever to score 700 runs in a single IPL season this year apart from becoming the first player in T20 history to score 500 powerplay runs in a single edition of a tournament. He was also the Most Valuable Player this IPL and also picked up the emerging player award and the Orange Cap. In his international career so far, Sooryavanshi has scored a total of 193 runs with two fifties with his scores of50 and 81 coming against Zimbabwe in the first T20I and third T20I in the recently concluded T20I series against Zimbabwe. Rahane also shared how Sooryavanshi needs the right guidance at this stage of his career. “What he needs at the moment is the right guidance. With the right people around you. First, family is very important and family needs to understand what’s important. Nowadays, you see a lot of glam and fame and you travel and you see many people around you. Family needs to be really strong and tell him what is important, and tell him the road next five years, 10 years down the line and keep him disciplined,” said Rahane.