After scoring a half-century in the first T20I against Zimbabwe, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi couldn’t replicate the same magic in the second match of the series on Saturday. The opening batter was dismissed for 20 runs off 9 balls, prompting Ishan Kishan to step up and deliver a match-winning 81-run knock off 44 deliveries. Speaking at the post-match press conference, Ishan was asked how the team management and senior players communicate with the 15-year-old prodigy regarding his long-term career.
Ishan shared a clear strategy devised by the Indian team, revealing that the teenage batter has been advised to focus solely on his game and the task at hand, rather than worrying about social media or outside noise. Understanding how much off-field chatter can affect a young player, Ishan revealed that even senior players ensure their conversations with Sooryavanshi are carefully measured.
“Vaibhav is actually very smart. He knows what he is doing, how he needs to bat, how he needs to conduct himself off the field, and how to be on the field. But at the same time, I feel that because of where he comes from, there can be a lot of distractions there. There can be many distractions in your friend circle. Having come from the same background, I know what you need to focus on when you play cricket and represent India. I just try to ensure that. Not only me, but along with him, myself, Abhishek, Axar bhai, and a lot of players, whoever interacts with him, we just make sure that right now, he thinks as much as possible about cricket, rather than what’s happening on social media, what the outside noise is, or letting his body language drop if he isn’t scoring runs,” Ishan said during the press conference after the 2nd T20I.
Like millions of Indian fans, Ishan has no doubt that Sooryavanshi is a generational talent. Consequently, keeping him away from peripheral noise and focused on the pitch remains a top priority for the squad.
“We just try to ensure he doesn’t fall into those thought processes. Especially looking at the kind of player he is, we know that if a batter like him stays at the crease and hits from the very first ball, you can finish the six overs of the powerplay at 80 to 90 runs,” he added.
“When you have a player like that and you know he is very young, you never want him to get distracted for the wrong reasons. So our job as teammates-especially since we are like brothers and he comes from the same place I do-is to keep him happy, make him focus on the important things, and ensure he doesn’t repeat the mistakes we made in our early days. Whether that’s in terms of mindset or physical fitness, as a brother, we just want him not to repeat those mistakes and to keep enjoying his cricket.”
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