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Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's fearless batting has taken the cricket world by storm. The teenager has been smashing quality bowlers with remarkable confidence, and he is now being seen as the future of Indian cricket. However, Vaibhav's rise has raised questions about the modern game.
The teenage sensation is currently on a Sri Lanka tour with the India A side, and he already received his maiden India call-up for the upcoming Ireland and England tours as well as the Asian Games 2026. However, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was dismissed cheaply in India A's first clash of the one-day tri-series against Sri Lanka A.
Greg Chappell compares Vaibhav Sooryavanshi to Graeme Pollock, Gary Sobers, Brian Lara and Adam Gilchrist
After Michael Clarke hailed Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's temperament, legendary Australian cricketer Greg Chappell believes that the teenager's success tells a story beyond just individual talent. He noted that the left-hander’s ability to dominate experienced bowlers at such a young age highlights how difficult modern cricket has become for bowlers, especially in T20 cricket.
Chappell was highly impressed by the teenager's batting skills. He feels Sooryavanshi possesses a rare mix of traditional technique and modern attacking cricket. The former Australian captain noted that the youngster looks comfortable against both pace and spin and plays his shots with confidence far beyond his age.
Greg Chappell wrote in his column for ESPNCricinfo: "In his elegant downswing and flawless balance, there are distinct echoes of the great Graeme Pollock and the incomparable Sir Garfield Sobers."
"When he slashes across the line or lofts over extra cover, one glimpses the ferocious, instinctive genius of Brian Lara, combined with the devastating, ball-one intent of Adam Gilchrist. It is a classic, pure method being deployed with contemporary violence, proving that his talent is a rare gift to the game. However, his unprecedented success at such a tender age serves as a profound warning sign.”
Greg Chappell uses Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's rise to expose game's biggest problem
However, Chappell also admitted that watching such dominance from a player still in his teenage years raised concerns in his mind. He believes cricket is moving towards a stage where batters enjoy too many advantages while bowlers are left with very little support.
The former Indian coach pointed out that several changes over the years have shifted the balance heavily towards batters. Bigger and more powerful bats, shorter boundaries, and batting-friendly pitches have made scoring easier than ever before.
The Aussie great said, "If a child who has barely completed his physical development can step onto the global stage and effortlessly humiliate elite international bowlers, it exposes a systemic illness within the sport."
"Sooryavanshi is the ultimate canary in the coal mine, showing us that the modern environment has been engineered to make bowling extinct. The combination of hyper-engineered bat technology, drastically shortened boundary ropes, and completely lifeless, flat pitches has swung the game monstrously in favor of batters.”
Greg Chappell issues serious warning on T20 Cricket
Chappell feels that cricket is at its best when both batters and bowlers have equal opportunities to influence the game. He warned that if matches become only about sixes and boundaries, fans could eventually lose interest because the contest between bat and ball makes cricket exciting.
The Australian great also believes that T20 cricket is becoming too predictable and issued a stern warning. He signed off by saying, “This lopsided environment threatens to reduce T20 cricket to a repetitive, mechanical loop of boundaries that will ultimately alienate the sporting public. The entertainment value of any sport relies fundamentally on jeopardy, and when that jeopardy is stripped away, the spectacle quickly loses its gloss.”
