Jofra Archer may have refused to answer the question that every bowler in the IPL seeks, but there is one individual who frequently gets Vaibhav Sooryavanshi out in the nets. After Rajasthan Royals pulverised Sunrisers Hyderabad to send the 2016 champions packing from the Indian Premier League (IPL) and give themselves a shot at the title when they play Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 2 on Friday evening, the broadcaster asked Archer, ‘Where do you bowl to him in the nets?’, to which the England pacer responded ‘I’ll tell you after the tournament is over,’ sparking a few laughs around.
For all you know, Archer has no clue either. He may have picked up 24 wickets this season, but as the initial few days of RR’s X handle posted, even he took a pasting at the hands of Sooryavanshi. Nonetheless, it’s safe to say after 16 matches that no bowler quite has the wood over Sooryavanshi, barring one. And as it turns out, he used to be a batter during his playing days. Heck, he ever served as India’s batting coach during Rahul Dravid’s tenure and is currently performing the same role at the Royals.
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You guessed it right. Vikram Rathour.
As Sooryavanshi was going berserk, on his way to registering the fastest hundred in the history of the league, the broadcasters decided to have a bit of chat with Rathour in the dugout. In the middle of the carnage, when Sunil Gavaskar asked Rathour if there was anyone in the RR camp who could get him out, Rathour cheekily answered. “It’s only me, I think. I throw it with my stick, and I actually get him out quite often. I’m not telling you why.”
What goes on inside Sooryavanshi’s head
Rathour admitted having little clue about what goes on in the teenager’s head. He said Sooryavanshi is simply enjoying himself in the middle and making the most of a batting-friendly surface. Having recently spoken to him, he felt there was nothing overly complicated behind the youngster’s approach other than his sheer love for hitting sixes, something clearly visible in the way he bats.
“To be honest, the way he is batting, as a coach, one of the key things that I’ve learned is that sometimes it’s better to say nothing. And when someone is batting like that, it’s the perfect flow. So I’m not telling him anything. Just enjoy your batting, look to bat well, and that’s it,” added Rathour.
“His biggest strength is to work on his game. He’s almost a genius the way he is batting at the moment. But the way he thinks his cricket is well is a big strength. Whatever people are trying, he is responding to it. Takes everything well. He practices it. You can see that he has all the shots. So far, he has brilliantly responded to everything he’s been through. Let’s see how far he goes.”
