London, June 27 (IANS) Rajasthan Royals’ Director of Cricket Kumar Sangakkara has backed teenage batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi to make a mark in international cricket, saying that he has all the ingredients to be a force for Indian cricket and world cricket.

Sooryavanshi, 15, is currently on his first tour with the Indian team for the ongoing T20I series in Ireland, before he arrives in England for a five-game series starting on July 1 in Durham. He earned his maiden India call-up on the back of making 776 runs in 16 innings at a strike rate of 237.30 for RR, including hitting 72 sixes.

Sooryavanshi also scored 175 in India beating England in the final to win this year’s Under-19 World Cup and Sangakkara, the former Sri Lanka captain, thinks the youngster is well-equipped to handle fame and attention.

“I feel Vaibhav will handle all the attention very well. At Rajasthan Royals, we pay a lot of attention to how we manage him and protect him. We keep an eye on him to make sure he stays grounded and focused. He will have many opportunities ahead, in cricket and commercially.

“How he balances that, and the support he gets from his family and the team, will be crucial. But one thing I can say for sure is that Vaibhav loves batting. He loves the game. The fame and flash don’t really affect him. He is very grounded and curious about many things.

“He doesn’t just live and breathe cricket all the time. He has space for other things. I have no doubt he will be a force for Indian cricket, world cricket, and in franchise cricket. Mentally, he is in a good place. I think he will deal with everything that comes with fame very well,” said Sangakkara on Sky Sports.

He also recalled how the franchise first spotted Sooryavanshi, who made his Ranji Trophy debut, at just 12. “In 2023, our analyst Akshay sent us a text about a 12‑year‑old kid named Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. He said the boy was incredibly talented and we needed to have a look. His coach Manish Ojha had told Vaibhav’s father that the kid was ready for the big leagues at just 12.

“We were surprised at first, thought it was a joke. But Akshay was very sure, so we brought him in. Rahul Dravid was the head coach at RR then. They watched him for five or six minutes and said, ‘We have to buy this lad.’ I first saw Vaibhav during a camp in Guwahati.

“In a small side net, Jofra Archer and Sandeep Sharma were bowling with the new ball. No one wanted to bat there. Vaibhav walked in and said, ‘I’ll bat.’ The sound off his bat was like a gunshot. He took on Archer and Sandeep with ease. At one point, Archer just stopped and laughed because this 14‑year‑old was treating him with utter disdain.”

Sangakkara further narrated an anecdote from this season to underline the teenager’s confidence, as he hit a brilliant 93 off 38 balls to power RR to a memorable victory over Lucknow Super Giants at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur.

“I have a story from this season that stands out. We were playing against Lucknow Super Giants. They needed to defend 220 to stay alive in the tournament. We fielded first, and as the chase was about to begin, Vaibhav was walking out to open.

“Before heading to the middle, he looked at me, winked, and said, ‘Coach, don’t worry. It’s done.’ Then he walked into the dressing room and told Donovan Ferreira and Lhuan‑dre Pretorius, ‘Listen you two, I’m going to hit 13 sixes today. After that, you just finish the job.’

“He ended up hitting 10 sixes in that game. Donovan and Lhuan‑dre thought he was joking at first. But when he reached five sixes, they started counting down because they realised he was actually going to do it. That’s the kind of confidence Vaibhav has at just 15 years of age.”

–IANS

nr/