Alastair Cook Finds One 'Unusual' Aspect In Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's Batting

The 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi had a staggering second season in the IPL, ending as the leading run-getter with 776 runs. Calls for a maiden India call-up have grown since his couple of 90s in the play-offs for Rajasthan Royals. The teenager finished as the tournament's leading run-scorer and was named the Most Valuable Player as well as the Emerging Player of the Season. He also claimed the Super Striker award after maintaining a remarkable strike rate of 237.31 and won the Super Sixes award by smashing a record 72 sixes during the campaign.

Former England captain Alastair Cook is in awe of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. "I think the one thing about it is - there doesn't seem to be any premeditation," Cook said in a podcast.

"Most batsmen, even the best hitters, are literally waiting for that ball to be in their one slot for six. They might have two slots. But with him, you bowl five balls, and he'll wait for a ball at 99 miles per hour, then react to it and still hit it for six. So cleanly. I think that's what's unusual."

Even another England captain, Michael Vaughan, spoke highly of him.

"I was in the pool last week in Mumbai. Rajasthan playing Mumbai - a must-win game to go through to the playoffs. Yashasvi Jaiswal comes and has a chat, and then the kid (Sooryavanshi) arrives and I start off: 'It's a pleasure to meet you. Full admiration for the way you play. How do you prepare for the matches?' He went: 'Watching cartoons.' I was like... alright. I said, 'Are you training?' He went, 'No.' I said, 'What do you eat?' He went, 'Everything.' I said - there's the modern player. Watch a cartoon, eat what you want, smack it out of the ground," he said.

Sooryavanshi will next play India A tri-series in Sri Lanka. He may also be picked for India's Ireland Tour. 

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Topics mentioned in this article

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Alastair Cook Michael Vaughan England Cricket Team Rajasthan Royals Cricket