‘Let’s not take a crystal ball and try to assess what he can become’ – WV Raman on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi

WV Raman urged cricket enthusiasts around the world to be patient with Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and to allow him time to learn from experience. The 15-year-old is still very new to domestic cricket and has just received his maiden call-up to the Indian team after stunning performances against legendary bowlers in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Sooryavanshi has been named in India’s squads for the T20I series in Ireland and England and the subsequent Asian Games later this year. The southpaw is in line to become the youngest player to have made his debut for India. Sachin Tendulkar currently holds the record, having made his international debut at the age of 16 years and 205 days. Sooryavanshi is expected to break this record easily, as he just turned 15 in March.

While the cricket fraternity is excited to see what achievements Sooryavanshi can achieve in his career, Raman advised them not to put him under undue pressure by weighing him down with their expectations.

“Let’s not take a crystal ball and try to assess what he can become. Things will pan out because he has done well in two back-to-back IPL seasons. He has shown he is not afraid of taking on the best in the business. Experience is obviously a tough teacher because it punishes you first and teaches you the lessons. So, along the way, he would be punished by experience, and then he’ll be taught lovely lessons too. Age is on his side. Just allow him to play his cricket,” WV Raman was quoted as saying by NDTV.

Sooryavanshi is currently in Sri Lanka, where he is playing for India A under Tilak Varma’s leadership. However, the opening batter hasn’t been at his best in testing conditions. He also got involved in a heated altercation with the Sri Lanka A players in the fourth match of the tournament, which was decided in the Super Over. Sooryavanshi pushed Vishen Halambage, who had reportedly been sledging him since the first meeting between India A and Sri Lanka A.

In four matches, Sooryavanshi has scored 117 runs at an average of 29.25 and a strike rate of 153.95. The teenager would want to finish the campaign on a high with a big score in the summit clash on Sunday, June 21.