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The India A vs Sri Lanka A match on June 15 was a pure thriller. The hosts managed to win it through a super over. More than the result of the match, the aftermath caught the attention. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was involved in a heated altercation with the Sri Lankan players.
The 15-year-old, who did not have the best of his days on the field yesterday, was provoked by Sri Lanka A team players. Footage from the match shows that, out of anger, Sooryavanshi pushes an opposing team member, Vishen Halambage, further escalating the heat.
Former Sri Lanka captain's words of wisdom for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
Amid the controversy, former Sri Lanka captain Anura Tennekoon advises Vaibhav Sooryavanshi to manage his temper. Tennekoon, 79, who led the national cricket team in four matches back in the 1970s, waited patiently to have some words with the emerging Indian opener.
For Tennekoon, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is a generational talent who needs to put his focus entirely on the game. “He is a generational talent… You focus on your game and cut out the outside noise. Today, unfortunately, you couldn't get going. But that's part of the game, you can't get going every day,” the former Sri Lanka captain Tennekoon told as quoted by Sportstar.
According to the Sportstar report, Anura Tennekoon, Sri Lanka’s first ODI captain, waited nearly an hour only to meet with Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. Many players came and went, the grounds men were wrapping up to end the day, but there was no Sooryavanshi on the scene.
As he waited for a long time, the former cricketer was spotted discussing something with the India A team captain Tilak Varma. At last, when Vaibhav Sooryavabshi arrived, the veteran got his moment to talk with the budding talent.
The former skipper is impressed by Sooryavanshi's batting skills
Tennekoon said that he was amazed to see those fours and sixes hit by the Rajasthan Royals prodigy during the Indian Premier League (IPL). The ultra-aggressive batting of the teenage opener impressed the former cricketer a lot.
“I was really impressed by his batting in the IPL. And hitting those sixes and fours the way he does is something unbelievable. I hope he continues in this way,” Tennekoon told the media house.
High expectations for the teen batter
The India A team is currently in Sri Lanka for a tri-nation ODI series along with the host nation and Afghanistan. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is the main attraction of the tournament as he went to the island nation after concluding the IPL 2026 season, where he earned the Orange cap for scoring the most runs in the season.
In 16 matches and as many innings, the southpaw accumulated 776 runs with a mind-blowing strike rate of 237.30 to claim multiple individual awards and to help the team qualify for the play-offs. After the heroics in IPL 2026, the Bihar-born got his maiden call-up as well for the senior cricket team.
The Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel named the emerging batter for the T20Is against Ireland, England, and for the 2026 Asian Games as well.
