Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has flagged a concern for Rajasthan Royals (RR) about Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, stating that while he is a great batter, fans and experts are yet to see his full potential in the field.
Sooryavanshi has emerged as one of the brightest young stars of IPL 2026, scoring an impressive 440 runs in just 11 innings at the age of 15. He has been used by RR as majorly as an impact player, and Manjrekar feels this could hamper the growth of the young Sooryavanshi.
“I’m increasingly feeling that the Impact Player rule should be reconsidered for this reason as well. Is this all we want to see from Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, just one side of his game? A cricketer is someone who bats well and fields well too,” Manjrekar said on the Sportstar Insight Edge Podcast.
He clarified that athletes from previous generations were evaluated on more than simply their hitting prowess.
“We respected players like Inzamam-ul-Haq for their batting, but we also saw their fielding and other aspects of their game. That helped people properly assess a player. Right now, someone can come in, face a few balls, display their hitting ability, and then disappear without showing the other side of their cricket,” he added.
Manjrekar went on to say that young athletes should be exposed to high-pressure circumstances on the field, where they must learn from their failures.
“We are not expecting to see all 3 dimensions of a player. But the more I think of it, it all makes sense, and you're right, Sooryavanshi, you want to see him be on the field and see what happens and be put under pressure as well. If he is a great batter, but a slight liability in the field, I'd like to see that exploited. That is also something we have experienced as fielders when we drop a catch at the tension that comes with it, which is going to be batting and chilling. You don't want one of the highest sort of levels of the sport to be that easy,” he added.
Manjrekar highlighted that international cricket requires players to be complete cricketers, doing well in all three departments of the game. According to him, the Royals may unintentionally be limiting Sooryavanshi’s growth by using him only as an impact player.
“Absolutely. Is having him play as an impact player hampering his growth as a fielder?. And that is an issue that's going to be there. India won the T20 World Cup despite the impact player rule being there and despite a guy like Shivam Dube not bowling at all, but still doing well in the T20 World Cup. So things are happening. But I believe that a cricketer, not somebody, will just come in and tuck, tuck, tuck, then take a break and enjoy life. I just wanted to become a little more testing for every player; not just if he is a good bowler and bowls his 4 overs, I'd like to see him in the field as well,” Manjrekar concluded.
