Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag recently delivered some advice to Vaibhav Suryavanshi, the youngest player in IPL history. Vaibhav made his much-awaited debut last week for Rajasthan Royals against Lucknow Super Giants, and he surely made his score count. From ball one, a deep six against Shardul Thakur and then another six off Avesh Khan quickly followed. By the end of his first innings, he had scored 34 runs, placing him in a very special group alongside big names like Andre Russell and Carlos Brathwaite, who all have the honor of a six off their first ball.
But as much fun as Sehwag reminded the young lad to stay grounded and not be overawed with early praise, he advised him to be cautious in his approach. ‘If you go out on that field thinking you’ll be applauded every time you do something well and criticized when you don’t, it’ll keep you grounded,’ Sehwag said in an interview with Cricbuzz. Then, he narrated his own experience, saying that he had seen many players get some breaks, shine for a couple of matches, and then fade away as they started to believe they had become stars too soon.
The existence of Vaibhav in whatever he wants is very important, Sehwag pointed out; the continuing existence in IPL as Kohli has done. “Suryavanshi should target for a solid 20-year career in the IPL. Look at Kohli;, he jumped in at 19 here and having played all the seasons since then. That’s the sort of goal he should be chasing,” emphasized Sehwag. He cautioned that if Vaibhav ended up thinking he’s made it big because he signed a good contract and had a smashing debut, he wouldn’t be around long.
Vaibhav was auctioned by Rajasthan Royals for Rs 1.10 crore, a high increase from the original base price of Rs 30 lakh. Thus, he became the youngest player to become a crorepati in the IPL. In the match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, his latest game was the scoring of the 16 runs in 12 balls, though unfortunately, his team lost the game by 11 runs.
With all the pressure and excitement surrounding Vaibhav, it is Sehwag’s advice on humility and hard work that can prove to be a true guiding force in teaching him ways of handling the pressure of a new star in the cricketing world. If he stays focused and reminds himself that this is just the beginning, one can only speculate on what the future will bring for him!
