Stand-in Team India head coach VVS Laxman praised 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi for showing impressive maturity during the recent T20I series against Zimbabwe. However, the former India batter stated that the young opener must improve his fitness to succeed consistently at the highest level.
India completed a 3-0 series whitewash over Zimbabwe with a comfortable 35-run victory at the Harare Sports Club in Harare on Sunday, July 26. Vaibhav top-scored for the visitors with 81 runs off 49 balls, including eight fours and four sixes. He was named both the Player of the Match and the Player of the Series.
Overall Fitness Is One Area We Want Him to Improve - VVS Laxman on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
Speaking after the third T20I in Harare, VVS Laxman said that Vaibhav Sooryavanshi evolved as a cricketer and a person. The stand-in India head coach said that the teenager has shown remarkable maturity over the past six months and has handled pressure exceptionally well.
"But what is really impressive is the way he's evolved as a person. The maturity level, the understanding and the awareness over the last six months have actually skyrocketed. That's why he's been able to handle tough situations. He's been able to perform under pressure against the best players," Laxman said.
However, Laxman said that the 15-year-old needs to improve fitness. He added that Sooryavanshi wanted to stay on the field after suffering an injury during the final T20I before the team physio asked him to come off.
"One of the areas in which we want him to get better is his overall fitness. We also have to remember that he's just 15 years old. He's a very young boy. He himself wants to get better in every aspect of the game. Even though he got injured, he still wanted to be on the field. But it was our physio who actually asked him to come out."
We First Identified Him Two and a Half Years Ago - VVS Laxman
VVS Laxman revealed that the BCCI identified Vaibhav Sooryavanshi as a special talent around two and a half years ago. Laxman said the coaches have closely monitored not only his cricket but also his personality and overall development.
"I think we know Vaibhav very well. It was, I think, two and a half years ago that we first identified him, just before the 2024 Under-19 World Cup. He was part of the quadrangular series which happened in Vijayawada, and he was one of the top scorers for India B," Laxman said.
"Since then, he has been there in various camps at the COE. Then he was the highest run-getter in the Under-19 World Cup. So we know him in and out. It's not only the player, but we also know the person. When you know the person, what works for him and how do we prepare him so that he's in the best frame of mind when he goes into a match is something which we try to do."
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Ends Breakthrough Series in Style
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi finished the Zimbabwe series as the leading run-scorer, amassing 151 runs in three innings at an average of 50.33 and a strike rate of over 196. The left-handed opener scored two half-centuries, including a match-winning 81 off 49 balls in the series finale.
He hit joint slowest T20 fifty of his career. His performances earned him both the Player of the Match and Player of the Series awards. At just 15 years of age, Sooryavanshi also became the youngest male cricketer to win a Player of the Series award in international cricket.
The youngster bounced back strongly after a difficult debut series in England, where he struggled to make an impact. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi also impressed in the field, taking a sharp catch off Mayank Yadav's bowling to dismiss Brian Bennett in the third T20I.
