Less than 24 hours after the Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar backed Vaibhav Sooryavanshi for Test cricket, the teenager received another ringing endorsement, this time from the King himself. Virat Kohli was blown away by Sooryavanshi after the 15-year-old became the youngest player to win the IPL Orange Cap. After Royal Challengers Bengaluru defeated Gujarat Titans by five wickets to clinch their second title, Kohli quickly walked over to Sooryavanshi, put an arm around his shoulder and shared a few words that the youngster is unlikely to forget.
However, as it turns out, that was not all. Kohli also had something significant to say about Sooryavanshi, and while it was not caught on camera, it came via a trusted source. AB de Villiers, who was part of the broadcast team for the IPL final, revealed Kohli’s reaction to the teenager, and it spoke volumes.
“Do you want to know what Virat said? I did have a brief chat with Virat, and as Vaibhav was walking up to the stage to receive his Orange Cap trophy, Virat raised his eyebrows and said, ‘AB, this kid is special. The boy can play.’”
And why wouldn’t he? Sooryavanshi swept up the accolades this season. Such was the impact of his campaign that it almost dwarfed the buzz around RCB’s title triumph for a moment last night. An Orange Cap with 776 runs, the record for the most sixes in a single IPL edition, and a fastest century mark missed by just one ball. All of that in a little over two months. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has well and truly arrived. And with endorsements from two of the greatest batters the game has ever seen, the trajectory appears clear: onward and upward.
Indian cricket’s next superstar has arrived
If Indian cricket has been searching for its next superstar in the mould of Sachin, Dhoni and Kohli, Sooryavanshi may well be that miracle kid. He has grabbed worldwide attention with his batting, and to think he is only 15. Even if he makes his India debut two years from now, which at this point appears to be a worst-case scenario, he could still go on to enjoy a career spanning two decades. Currently known as a T20 phenomenon, Sooryavanshi is an equally promising prospect for 50-overs and red-ball cricket.
Later this month, Sooryavanshi will return to action when he features in his maiden India A 50-over campaign against Sri Lanka. While that may rule him out of contention for the Ireland and England series in late June and early July, when it comes to BCCI selectors, never say never.
