New Delhi, May 28 (IANS) Former India batter Aakash Chopra hailed Rajasthan Royals’ teenage opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi as a ‘special’ talent after his blistering knock in the Eliminator helped the side beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 47 runs. But at the same time Chopra added that his India debut can wait given he is only 15.

Sooryavanshi smashed a breathtaking 97 off just 29 balls, laced with 12 sixes, as he tore into SRH bowling line-up and helped RR post a massive 243/8. Sooryavanshi, who now holds the Orange Cap with 680 runs in this season, narrowly missed out on the record of fastest hundred in the IPL, but left the opposition bowlers shell shocked with his fearless stroke‑play.

“We are still two years away from the next World Cup. There is plenty of time. Yes, picking Vaibhav Sooryavanshi for India based on his IPL form is an exciting thought. You can’t ignore it because the IPL is India’s top T20 tournament. He is breaking records left and right. You have to take him seriously. He is special, no doubt.

“But you don’t make changes just for the sake of it. It’s simple. For someone to be dropped, they need to fail. If someone is already a topper in the team, why would you replace them just because someone else scored big runs? Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson are those toppers right now. You don’t replace them. If you do, then in two or three years when Vaibhav has a lean patch, the same thing will happen.

“The next young batter will be pushed in. So, the selectors, Ajit Agarkar, RP Singh, Pragyan Ojha, will face pressure. But they must do what is best for Indian cricket. They will make the right call. His India debut doesn’t have to happen tomorrow. It can wait. He is only 15. There is no rush,” said Chopra on Star Sports.

Sooryavanshi’s stunning blitz also saw him surpass Chris Gayle’s 12‑year‑old record of 59 sixes in a single IPL season. With 65 sixes already, Sooryavanshi’s face-off against the Gujarat Titans bowlers will be a mouth-watering contest when the Qualifier 2 clash takes place in New Chandigarh on Friday.

“Bowlers usually have a plan against Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Pat Cummins started with yorkers, which Vaibhav couldn’t score off initially. But once he got his eye in, nothing worked. The SRH bowlers looked helpless. It felt like they were hit by a tsunami. And when a batter like Vaibhav is in that kind of form, there is very little you can do except watch.

“SRH have an experienced bowling attack. Pat Cummins and Eshan Malinga are world-class bowlers. One of them is a World Cup winner. Cummins tried his best but was left with no answers. Forget Sooryavanshi’s age for a moment, just look at the quality.

“This was one of the best counter-attacking innings by an opener in a long time. Against a good bowling attack, he played with complete control. The bowlers had plans, but those plans failed completely. That is the mark of a special player,” added Chopra.

He also explained what makes Sooryavanshi such a destructive opener. “It all starts with Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s backlift. That generates immense power. He has a very solid base at the crease. He mostly likes to hit down the ground or on the leg side, where he can use his bottom hand effectively.

“But a couple of shots showed his growing maturity, like when he went over covers off a slower ball from Sakib – he held his pose for a moment, paused, and then unleashed. He is reminding us that if you grow up on a T20‑only diet, this is the kind of batter you can become. Fearlessness is in his DNA. We are astonished by what he has achieved.

“But in the next five years, we will talk about him breaking his own records. Because he carries no baggage from other formats. Chris Gayle was a phenomenal T20 player, a legend of the game. But he also had a Test triple hundred.

“Sooryavanshi has focused only on T20s. This is what he always wanted to be. He has hit 65 sixes this season. He might reach 70 in the next game. Next season, or the one after, who knows? He could even hit 100 sixes in a single IPL season,” concluded Chopra.

–IANS

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