India head coach VVS Laxman lavished praise on teenage batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi after the young gun produced a match-winning innings to lead India 3-0 with T20I series whitewash over Zimbabwe. “It was a very mature innings from a 15-year-old,” said Laxman, adding that his deft shot-play and patience were signs not only of natural talent but mental maturity.
Sooryavanshi came on the back of a rough start to his international career in England, where he found it hard to make an impact with the bat and eventually dropped for the final T20I. But the left-hand batsman bounced back brilliantly, playing enterprising but controlled knocks against Zimbabwe. He scored a blistering fifty in the first game and then played an unbeaten knock of 81 runs in the third match to secure the Player of the Series award.
What has bowled Laxman over is the eagerness of Sooryavanshi to learn. In the opinion of the India coach, the young gun goes through his training sessions and performances during matches day in and day out to figure out where he can improve. According to laxman, this habit has contributed extremely much regarding how quickly the batter has blown from a couple months back.
His commitment and fighting spirit on the field impressed the coach too, whose comments were also directed at Sooryavanshi. The series saw the teenager leave the field while attempting a catch on day one but he insisted he wanted to continue playing. The towel did the job but Laxman said that eventually, injured from the exertion and breathless he accepted what the physio requested only to make way off the field but that again underlined, how every athlete wants to be out there helping his team in whatever way possible.
Despite Sooryavanshi’s batting success, Laxman said that he has to work on his fitness as he is still not a fully-fit cricketer. He believed that the young cricketer has the potential to achieve more and if he stays true to hard work as well as his attitude towards learning, in no time he would reach great heights.
Sooryavanshi, came as one of the biggest positives from the tour with India’s young talent on a high after yet another dominating series victory over Zimbabwe. His bravery, equanimity and desire to self-improve gained Suryakumar Yadav early fame and the same goes with one of the brightest prospects in Indian cricket as Laxman’s encouraging words further show the high hopes from him.
