Former Indian fielding coach R Sridhar reckons young Vaibhav Sooryavanshi needs to work on his fielding as he is rising through the ranks. Sooryavanshi has impressed one and all with his blistering batting but fielding is definitely one area, where he would like to lift his game.
The youngster was often used as an Impact Player by the Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2026 as he isn’t the quickest on the field. Sridhar said it is never a good feeling for a 15-year-old when he is subbed out in the field.
Sooryavanshi scored 776 runs in 16 matches of IPL 2026 but he would be aware that he needs to pull up his socks in the field.
“He’s 15. So, you’re still a kid, right? So, someone there has to really run his program, a really honest program, I feel. I mean, although he’s in an international elite environment where athletes are aware of what they need to do, and how they need to manage their workloads,” R Sridhar said in a select media interaction organised by Sony Sports Network.
“But someone as young as 15 sometimes needs to be told. So, I think someone there has to make a schedule for Vaibhav Suryavanshi, where he has to deal with a lot in practice and make himself ready to field in the match as well, because at 15, if you are being subbed out, it’s not a great sign,” he added.
Sridhar recalled how Sooryavanshi had a near mishap as he almost collided with Ravi Bishnoi while attempting a catch at long-on in the Asian Games final against Pakistan.
“So obviously, I think by 18 or 19, you would want Vaibhav to evolve as a very, very good fielder. We saw that he had a near mishap in that Asian Games 2026 Final. That was a near mishap, which could have really caused an injury, so these are the things that need to be addressed,” R Sridhar said.
Sooryavanshi is currently part of India’s squad for the series against the West Indies.
