Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s explosive batting has earned him a new admirer, with Australian skipper Pat Cummins praising the fearless style of the 15-year-old sensation.
The Rajasthan Royals prodigy, who has taken the cricket world by storm, smashed his second IPL century — a blistering 103 off just 37 balls — though it came in a losing cause against Cummins-led Sunrisers Hyderabad.
"Yeah, I think he's my new favourite player. He hits the ball so hard, it's great to watch. It's good fun," Cummins, the World Test Championship and T20 World Cup-winning Australian skipper said after SRH's five-wicket win against Royals on Saturday.
Cummins is impressed with the kind of start Sooryavanshi has had to his career.
"You've got to be right on the money as a bowler, because if you're not, it's going a long way. So he's impressive. Yeah, he's had a great start to his career and yeah, I love the way he plays," Cummins said.
While there has been a raging debate about the flat tracks on offer with batters easily hitting fast bowlers and spinners through the line, Cummins feels that it is fine as long as such pitches are on offer in T20s and not Test matches.
"Look, maybe. I think it's just the way it is. The wickets might be flat, but it's only 20 overs, you know, so it's not a Test match where it's flat and they've had a bat for five days, so I'm okay with that. It's a maximum of four overs. Yeah, it's fine. It is what it is."
Cummins feels that these kinds of tracks test the quality of bowlers and one needs five top operators for this kind of tournament.
"We set up our team, obviously, to try and go big on our batting, and as bowlers it's up to us to try and minimise the runs. The scores look a little bit different to maybe a few years ago, but the concept's still the same. Yeah, I don't mind it. It's fine. It's the same for both teams. I think you still need five really good bowlers," Cummins said.
(With inputs from PTI)