Former Indian batter Robin Uthappa believes Vaibhav Sooryavanshi could have a bigger impact on white-ball cricket than Sachin Tendulkar. Sooryavanshi didn’t make a promising start to his International career, returning with scores of 13, 14 and 15 in three T20Is against England.
However, the youngster was able to bounce back stronger on the Zimbabwe tour. The left-hander scored 151 runs in three matches at an average of 50.33 and a strike rate of 196.10 and was awarded Player of the Series.
On the other hand, Sachin Tendulkar is regarded as one of the best batters of all time. Tendulkar amassed 18426 runs in his glorious ODI career, which is the most in International cricket.
Robin Uthappa said on CommBoxTV YouTube Channel, “He could have a bigger impact on white-ball than Tendulkar. But how he’s managed is going to be important. We’ve seen in Indian cricket exciting players come through the ranks. We saw Vinod Kambli and Prithvi Shaw and started asking what they would become when they were 17-18 years old. And then suddenly they fall off the wagon.”
“So that will be Vaibhav’s first test. Can he stay pristine for the game over a period of five years? He’s 15 now, so can he stay pristine till he’s 20? There’s so much innocence to who he is that you want that to be protected. I love the fact that he’s saying no to every advertisement and he’s focusing only on cricket. Because when he’s 18, he’ll start being perceived as a man and the female attention will come. That can be a distraction as well.”
Uthappa believes there will be trials and tribulations in Sooryavansh’s career and how he handles those challenges will define him at the topmost stage.
“There will be trials and tribulations in his career, and how he overcomes those will be key. I only hope he has the right support system and mentors to protect him from the world and allow him to live in a bubble until he is ready to explore the outside world. His career is not going to be pristine as much as we want it to be. There are going to be ups and downs as part of the journey,” said Uthappa (via the aforementioned source).
Sooryavanshi has been named East Zone’s vice-captain for the upcoming Duleep Trophy.
