"Much Better Than I'd Ever Be": Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Gets Ultimate Praise From Sri Lanka Legend Kumar Sangakkara
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has wowed one and all, but he might have just got his best compliment yet.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi appears to have left everyone in the cricket world in awe at the age of 15. Sri Lanka great Kumar Sangakkara - his head coach at Rajasthan Royals (RR) - seems to be included in that. Sangakkara, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest wicket-keeper batters of all time, stated that Sooryavanshi is a better batter than he ever was. He stated that that Sooryavanshi did not constant advise, but gentle guidance, and revealed that he doesn't have long conversations with the youngster.
"He's very curious, but I'm very careful not to have too long a chat with him. He just needs to relax and bat. If we do chat, it's a lot about other things other than cricket," Sangakkara said, speaking on Sooryavanshi.
Sangakkara said that he does not need to play a fatherly role towards the 15-year-old Sooryavanshi.
"No, no. He doesn't need that at all. He's a much better player than I would ever be, so he needs a little help but not too much," Sangakkara said.
The RR head coach revealed what kind of discussions he has with Sooryavanshi regarding his preparation for a match.
"When he practices, we kind of have a chat with him about what the bowlers might do, and he has an idea of what they might do to him - the short ball, the swinging yorker. So we'll practice those a little bit, but the more we tell him is just to commit. Whatever you do and you decide to do, you have to be 100% committed to that option.
"The most exciting thing is just how he looks at batting. He looks at it like all of us should as a 15-year-old, as a kid would. He loves it, he bats for long hours, and that's the most exciting thing. He really reads the game as well, so it's not just mindless hitting with him," he added.
Sooryavanshi has had a sensational IPL 2026 campaign, scoring 486 runs in 12 innings so far at a strike-rate of nearly 235.
Kumar Sangakkara
Rajasthan Royals
Sri Lanka Cricket Team
India Cricket Team