Former Pakistan wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal believes Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is ready for international cricket and could receive his India call-up when the current IPL season concludes.
Sooryavanshi has taken the by storm, scoring a century off 35 balls — the fastest in the tournament’s history — and the second fastest fifty. He hit a six off the very first ball he faced on debut.
His latest feat was a 15-ball fifty against , in a chase of just 128. Akmal noted that the modest target only made the innings more striking.
“In just 8 IPL games, he has been piling records — he already has a hundred. I think in the coming international games for India, he will get a chance after IPL. He will become a young player of the T20 international team. He has proved himself in every place. If he continues to perform, he will definitely get the chance,” Akmal said on the YouTube show Gameplan.
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Akmal was unstinting in his praise of the 14-year-old’s maturity. “His presence of mind, game awareness, the way he plays — he has a counter to everything at such a young age. This is remarkable … We are discussing his performance more because it was a (low scoring) match of 128. But his performance is visible because he scored 50 runs on 15 balls.”
He also credited Sooryavanshi’s father for laying the foundations. “His family and his father should be proud — the way he has worked with him, the way the others too like coaches who have taught him in school cricket, in club cricket.”
But it was Akmal’s parting thought that best captured the scale of what could be unfolding. “I am afraid — when he is 25, the bowlers will not know what to do with him.”
