Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has made up for his poor start in international cricket by scoring his maiden fifty and another scintillating cameo in the first two T20Is of the three-match T20I series between Zimbabwe and India in Harare.
After scoring a 19-ball 50 in the first T20I, Sooryavanshi scored 20 in just 9 balls, with 3 fours and 1 six, in the second T20I on July 25. Ishan, one of the team's elder players, has been guiding Vaibhav through the difficulties of playing for India at such a young age while maintaining a laser-like focus on cricket.
Ishan's equation with the young batter was questioned. The Indian wicketkeeper-batter praised Vaibhav, adding that despite his young age, the teenager has a solid grasp of both his game and appropriate behaviour.
Ishan also emphasised the need for shielding Vaibhav from outside distractions, stating that the senior players in the dressing room are deliberately trying to keep him concentrated on cricket rather than social media attention and the commotion that accompanies early success.
"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 many distractions there. There can be many distractions in your friend circle. Having come from that same background, I understand the key focuses required when playing cricket and representing India.
I just try to ensure that. Not only me, I think along with him, myself, Abhishek, Axar bhai, and a lot of players; whoever interacts with him in any way, we just make sure that right now, he thinks as much as possible about cricket, rather than what’s happening on social media, or what the outside noise is, or letting your body language drop if you aren't scoring runs," Ishan said in the press conference after the 2nd T20I.
Further, Ishan explained why the Indian team is making a conscious effort to keep Vaibhav away from unnecessary distractions.
"We just try to ensure he doesn't fall into those thought processes. And looking at, especially, the kind of player he is, we know that if he stays at the pitch, if a player like him stays at the crease, how much of a difference it can create for your team when a batter goes out and hits from the very first ball and you end the first six overs of the powerplay at 80–90 runs,' he added.
Sooryavanshi had become the youngest men’s cricket debutant in T20Is and for India in international cricket against England, on the back of a 776-run IPL 2026 season for the Rajasthan Royals. However, he managed 40-odd runs in his first three outings for India, putting the youngster under pressure as he was dropped for the fifth and final T20I.
As someone from the same area, Kishan clarified that the dressing room wants Vaibhav to enjoy the game free from outside distractions. He added that he views the young player as a younger brother and wants to help him avoid the mistakes that many cricket players make in their early careers.
"When you have a player like that, and you know he is very young, you would 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, our main focus is just 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, however it may be, as a brother, we just want him not to repeat those mistakes and to keep enjoying his cricket, just like he is doing right now," he concluded.
(ANI inputs)
