AHMEDABAD: A little after Rahul Tewatia hit the winning runs for Gujarat Titans during Qualifier 2, Rajasthan Royals’ Vaibhav Sooryavanshi sank into his seat at the dugout. Using the orange cap — he eventually emerged the leading run-scorer with 776 runs at 48.50 average and 237.30 strike rate — to hide his face, the 15-year-old was in tears. His teammates, one after another, and the captain, Riyan Parag, came in and gave a hug.
The teenager had perhaps played his career-best knock – 47-ball 96 — to give RR a chance to fight against GT, but it wasn’t enough. Gutted, the teenager could be seen taking solace in everyone who came to have a word with him and applaud him. And it was not just his teammates. Opponents, like Jos Buttler, broadcasters, former players, and team owners, all came to appreciate him.
For someone who was not even eligible to get a learner’s license in India, the 15-year-old had the world's attention. His success has been the story of the season, not just for RR, but for world cricket. Broadcasters and media from all over the world have their cameras and eyes on his every single move. In only his second year at the IPL, Sooryavanshi has become the crowd favourite, capturing the imagination of the cricket-frenzy nation. Not since Sachin Tendulkar has anyone achieved this early in their career.
And it showed outside the venues. After MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, his jerseys became an instant hit among the fans. The No 3 pink jersey was there to see everywhere Sooryavanshi and RR went. The attention of broadcasters, too, has moved from the veteran stars to the next-gen prodigy.
How did a 15-year-old from Tajpur, a small village 12km from Bihar’s Samastipur district, become the face of the league?
With his sheer cricketing genius, taking down the best in the world. The cumulative numbers, as ridiculous as they are, do not tell the significance and impact of him against the best in the world. For that, it has to be broken down as here. Sooryavanshi vs Mohammed Siraj — 60 runs at 206 SR; vs Pat Cummins — 38 runs at 316.7 SR; vs KG Rabada – 43 and 187 SR; vs Josh Hazlewood — 18 at 450 SR; vs Jasprit Bumrah — 13 at 260 SR.
Take any top international bowler in the league, and Sooryavanshi has made it a point to take him down. His teammate, Dhruv Jurel, during one of the interactions, explained how. “When we go to an academy, (we are told) 'Don't watch the bowler, watch the ball'. As 17-year-olds, we always watch the bowler (and think) he's a big name. But really, he just watches the ball,” Jurel said in one of the press conferences.
Which is why the question over the course of the tournament became when Sooryavanshi would play for India rather than if he would. If there was any doubt, legendary Tendulkar — who played for India at 16 — cleared it up. Speaking at the Cricinfo awards event on Saturday, Tendulkar, while not delving into selection matters, said how the teenager needs to be encouraged and protected.
"The way he sees the ball and the way he responds to that, if that signal is interrupted — if you put a lot of hurdles in between that by telling him multiple things — that's where the real challenge would be. I would give him the freedom to go out and bat the way he does. Along with time, he will learn to deal with other challenges of the game,” Tendulkar said. "But an exciting talent needs encouragement. And if he's doing well, then we need to encourage and support him and enjoy above all and not put pressure on him constantly, you know, he should play this, or he shouldn't be doing this, or he should be picked in whatever squad. Leave that to the guys (selectors) who are responsible for that," he added
Indeed. Shortly after RR got eliminated, the question on social media was all about when Sooryavanshi would play next. The answer to that has come from the selectors as they have picked the 15-year-old in the India A team for the tri-series in Sri Lanka, where he will play under Tilak Varma. Sooryavanshi showed the cricketing world that he is not just a flash in the pan or a one-season wonder. The next step for the teenager would be replicating the same in India A colours from June 9 against SL-A and Afghanistan A teams.
After all, it is only a matter of time before he turns up for the Indian men’s team.