Perhaps the only way left to describe Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is AI after all. The teenage sensation has been so good that many are struggling to believe he is even human, or joking that he must be using some Artificial Intelligence chip in his bat. Then again, this kid truly is unbelievable. What he is doing at 15 is insane, to say the least. With 400 runs from eight matches, Sooryavanshi became the fastest to breach the mark in a single Indian Premier League (IPL) season, and don’t be surprised if, by the end of it, he becomes the youngest-ever to win the prestigious Orange Cap. He is just 38 runs shy of table-topper Abhishek Sharma, and given his outrageous consistency, he may well surpass him and the rest of his seniors.
A few days ago, Pakistani cricket analyst Nauman Niaz playfully accused Sooryavanshi of using an AI chip in his bat to generate power (whatever that means). In response, Sooryavanshi offered a fitting reply, saying that God had naturally gifted him with that ability. However, it seems the world can’t get enough of linking him to AI. In a recent conversation, Gujarat Titans batter Jos Buttler even wondered if the boy wonder is real. Buttler’s class act when he met Sooryavanshi in the early stages of this year’s IPL won fans over, as he referred to him as the best player he has ever seen. Yet, it appears Buttler still finds it hard to wrap his head around Sooryavanshi’s audacity and fearlessness, so much so that he even texted Jofra Archer, the youngster’s Rajasthan Royals teammate.
“I actually texted Jofra and asked, ‘Is he AI? Has Elon Musk created this teenage sensation who is just a wizard with the bat?’ But no, he is real – and he is brilliant to watch. He is becoming a seriously exciting player, and I think there’s a very good chance we could see him in England this summer,” Buttler told his former England teammate Stuart Broad on the ‘For the Love of Cricket’ podcast.
‘You’ve joined a very exclusive club today’
What has amazed most about Sooryavanshi is that he has shown no signs of second-season syndrome; if anything, he has only elevated his game from last year. Scoring runs and dominating attacks is one thing, but treating legends like any other bowler is another ball game altogether. Ask Jasprit Bumrah, Josh Hazlewood or Pat Cummins. Three of the finest fast bowlers of this era have already experienced it – Sooryavanshi has taken each of them for a first-ball six. While this promises to remain a mind-boggling piece of trivia for years, Buttler believes it could turn into a defining memory that will be talked about for decades.
“I must admit, in the IPL, you spend a lot of time on your phone in your room. I was scrolling through Instagram when I came across the Sunrisers’ post-match wrap-up from that game, where they were handing out a few awards. They were talking to Pat Cummins after his first game of the season, and James Franklin said to him, ‘You’ve joined a very exclusive club today alongside Jasprit Bumrah and Josh Hazlewood.’ I remember thinking, ‘That’s some company – what club is this?’ And then he said, ‘The first ball you bowled to Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, he hit you for six as well’,” said Buttler.
“So Sooryavanshi, from the first three balls he has faced against Hazlewood, Bumrah and Cummins – arguably three all-time greats – has deposited each one over the ropes for six. Of all the records he may go on to break in his career, I think that might be one of my favourites. It’s outrageous. You can imagine a coach telling 15-year-old Vaibhav, ‘These are pretty good bowlers, mate – maybe just have a look at one.’ And he has decided to launch each of them out of the ground first ball. That is just extraordinary.”
