Handling pressure and limelight is a challenging thing for elite athletes. Even the best tend to struggle. How about managing all these as a 14-year-old? Rajasthan Royals’ teenage sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi has garnered the attention of the World in just two games. The 14-year-old opener smashed a six off the very first ball on his Indian Premier League debut. He scored 34 off 20 and 16 off 12 in the two matches and already smashed five sixes in his nascent career.
Virender Sehwag and Ravi Shastri, two of India’s finest cricketers have some advice for the youngster.
‘Aim to play IPL for 20 years’: Virender Sehwag
Virender Sehwag, winner of 2 World Cups, cautioned Vaibhav Suryavanshi to not get carried away with the name and fame.
“He (Vaibhav Suryavanshi) must aim to play IPL for 20 years like Virat Kohli. Kohli started playing IPL as an 18-year-old and has played 18 seasons. Look at the thousands of runs he has scored, the number of centuries he has. That should be the aim. If you think that you have become a star after hitting your first ball for six, then we may not see you in the coming years,” said the dashing opener on Cricbuzz Show
‘People won’t show you mercy’: Ravi Shastri
Ravi Shastri, the former head coach of the Indian Men’s team and eminent commentator, also spoke along similar lines to Virender Sehwag on the latest episode of The ICC Review.
“I think the first shot he played, that would have taken everyone’s breath away,” Shastri said. “But, he’s young, so I would say just let him play a bit because it’s at that age, there’s bound to be failure as well. It’s how he handles failure.”
“People will come up with new things. There’ll be lots of short stuff thrown at him. When you tonk someone’s first ball for six, then you show no mercy. Then you don’t care whether he’s 14 years old or 12 years old or 20 years old,” he added.
Rajasthan Royals, IPL 2025
Rajasthan Royals have lost 7 of their 9 matches this season and are on the brink of an elimination. Rajasthan Royals host Gujarat Titans on Monday (April 28). Sanju Samson missed the last two matches due to side strain and it will be interesting to see the team selection once the skipper returns to the top of the order. One has to wait and see whether they will drop Suryavanshi or push him down the order.
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