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India’s former mental conditioning coach Paddy Upton has issued a timely warning to the teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi amid the Sri Lanka tour, saying the youngster's biggest challenge will be how to handle the pressure and fame.
The 15-year-old has been enjoying a dream rise over the last few months. From winning the Orange Cap in IPL 2026 to earning his maiden India call-up, Vaibhav has gone from being a promising youngster to one of the most talked-about cricketers across the world. Recently, Graeme Smith snubs Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, crowns Vaibhav Sooryavanshi T20 king.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi gets reality check before India debut
However, ahead of his much-awaited India debut in the upcoming white-ball tours of Ireland and England, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has got the reality check. The left-handed batter failed to make a big impact for India A in the ongoing tri-series in Sri Lanka, but made headlines with his outburst.
Vaibhav has found himself in a big controversy during a heated clash against Sri Lanka A. He was even reportedly fined 50 percent of his match fees for his angry reaction in Dambulla.
Well, Paddy Upton believes that such moments are a normal part of a young player's journey. The renowned mental conditioning expert has stressed that every cricketer goes through ups and downs, and expecting Vaibhav to continue scoring heavily in every match would be unrealistic.
The former India coach feels the most important thing for Vaibhav is how quickly he recovers from difficult phases and moves forward without letting poor performances affect his confidence. Upton pointed out that sudden fame can be far more dangerous than any opposition bowling attack.
Paddy Upton reveals Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's biggest challenge after sudden stardom
Upton believes that Sooryavanshi's biggest challenge will be handling the pressure, expectations, criticism, and attention from fans, media, sponsors, and experts that come with sudden fame. He feels good having the right people around him to help the 15-year-old stay focused on the game.
Paddy Upton was quoted as saying by Sportstar: “His single biggest challenge, I believe, is how he manages the external noise away from the playing arena. And I can tell you, some of the mentally strongest, some of the best athletes in the world, who’ve got significant experience, still get derailed by external noise, external expectations, and external judgment."
The former South African cricketer further explained, “Whether it’s from fans, the media, sponsors, team owners, parents, coaches, or teammates. And that’s going to be his single biggest challenge, to manage that noise, which is something that will be foreign to him.
It’s not something that he’s ever faced before. And my big question was, I wonder who is working with him around that. Because that’s one thing players have identified over and over in sports: helping someone deal with sudden fame, or with fame…”
Paddy Upton warns Vaibhav Sooryavanshi after Sri Lanka controversy
The mental conditioning expert also said that Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's reaction was a mistake, but the important thing now is learning from it because rival teams will now try to target and provoke him in future matches after seeing how he responded under pressure on the Sri Lanka tour.
Upton signed off by saying, “It is important to know who is guiding him to recover from this and learn from it, because what’s going to happen going forward, I have no doubt that a lot of opposition, particularly the more aggressive oppositions, are going to provoke him because they’ve seen the way he’s responded or reacted. So, he will be provoked now.”
