While Sachin Tendulkar is the legend Vaibhav Sooryavanshi often gets compared to, there’s a lot of Virender Sehwag in the 15-year-old. Not the brutal strokeplay, but a trait that helped Sehwag succeed immensely. Like Sehwag, Sooryavanshi couldn’t be less bothered about what happened in the previous match. He starts fresh every inning.
At the Under-19 World Cup, Sooryavanshi’s scores leading up to the final were 2, 72, 40, 53, 30, and 68, before he razed through England with a breathtaking 175. Similarly, in Sri Lanka, Sooryavanshi was on the verge of enduring the toughest series of his young career, with scores of 14, 44, 21 and 38. But once again, in the final, it was as though these numbers no longer existed in Sooryavanshi’s mind as he knocked the stuffing out of Sri Lanka A with a record-breaking 94.
Suryansh Shedge, who was part of the India A set-up and witnessed Sooryavanshi’s innings knock from close quarters, aptly summed up his mindset.
“His mentality is incredible. He genuinely enjoys batting and never overcomplicates things. He has such a strong belief in his ability that even if he gets out for a duck, he doesn’t let it affect him. He backs himself to score a hundred off 30 balls in the next game. That kind of self-belief is rare. He doesn’t carry any baggage from the previous ball or the previous match. He lives in the moment and plays with complete freedom. That is what makes him so dangerous. He is the perfect example of being instinctive and playing without fear,” he told JioStar.
What went on behind the scenes
All that, however, is easier said than done. Even as Sooryavanshi waits for his India debut, the years of hard work that have shaped his mindset shine through. The reason he is unfazed by failure is that he knows he is more than capable of making up for it. From a very young age, Sooryavanshi was taught that the more aggressively he played, the deeper the impact he would have on the opposition.
“I think there are two major factors behind it. First, from a very early age, he was trained to play aggressive shots. As I mentioned in an earlier interview, he would face an incredible volume of deliveries in practice, at least 500 to 600 balls every session. If he wanted to improve his cut shot, he would play those many deliveries, focusing only on that stroke. If it were the pull shot, every ball was directed towards helping him perfect the pull. If it were lofted shots, he would spend three to four hours continuously practising just that one stroke, with ball after ball being fed to him,” Sooryavanshi’s childhood coach Manish Ojha tells Hindustan Times Digital.
“As a result, he developed exceptional muscle memory and a superb backlift. As he grew older, we also started exposing him to open net sessions and match simulations. He was not even 10 years old when he began facing senior bowlers, including Under-19, Under-23 and even Ranji Trophy players. In those match simulations, he would chase targets, defend totals and bat according to different match scenarios.”
Sooryavanshi quickly realised his game was far superior to most
When Sooryavanshi returned to compete against players in his own age group, the challenge no longer felt the same. By then, he had already spent years facing older, stronger and more skilful bowlers, many of whom represented Under-19, Under-23 and even Ranji Trophy teams. Having regularly dealt with a higher pace, sharper swing and greater variety in spin, the attacks in junior cricket appeared far less threatening. The gulf in quality meant Sooryavanshi could impose himself from the outset, take charge of bowling attacks and play with complete freedom, often turning matches into one-sided contests.
“You can see it in his record at the local, district and state junior levels. He scored so many runs, including double and triple centuries. By then, the fear factor had completely disappeared. From a very young age, he learned how to dominate bowlers. The trust he gained in himself from producing big scores against players of his own age stayed with him as he progressed through every level. He realised early that his game was far superior to most,” added Ojha.
“His preparation was also very different. He started structured physical training at an early age and played a huge number of matches. He knew he could assert himself in the game. He carried that self-belief to every level and succeeded everywhere he played. That’s why you see the aggressive mindset, the flawless strokeplay and the attacking approach in his batting. All of it comes from the foundation that was built during his formative years.”
That is why a low score barely registers in Sooryavanshi’s mind. Every dismissal is a thing of the past. The confidence to bat in that manner does not stem from arrogance or recklessness, but from the belief in his preparation. For most batters, a duck can leave scars. For Sooryavanshi, it is simply another scorecard to turn the page on.
