Indian legend Sunil Gavaskar lavished huge praise on teen prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi after his blistering 29-ball 97 against the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League (IPL) Eliminator, terming him ‘God’s gift to Indian cricket’. The 76-year-old also said the youngster needs o be picked for India’s upcoming white ball tour of England. “2026 will be remembered as Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Year. He (Sooryavanshi) is ready to play T20 International cricket. For England away T20 series, he will be selected. I mean he deserves to be selected after this brilliant show. If you don’t give him chance after this performance, when will you give him chance? Don’t go by his age. He is hitting those bowlers who are older than him. In fact at 15, he is hitting bowlers with 15 years of international experience. Just look at his fearless approach,” Gavaskar said on the Sports Tak YouTube channel. “Yes there will be headache as to whom you should drop. But it is a happy headache to have. When your option is whom to drop, that speaks of your country’s depth of talent. I think he (Sooryavanshi) will be kept in squad of 15 or 16 but whether he will be in 11 or not can be decided later. But the experience he will gain in that dressing room will be priceless,” Gavaskar added. Also Read | Sooryavanshi’s 03 joins Dhoni’s 7, Kohli’s 18, Rohit’s 45 in prized jersey club He also said that someone who hits straight sixes is anything but a slogger. “What we saw yesterday, even when I take into account some of his earlier innings, was different. He is not just special, he is very, very extra-ordinarily special. When we visualize six hitters, the idea of a slogger comes to our mind. But this kid hits straight sixes — over long on and long off with technical perfectness,” Gavaskar said. “And when one bowls short balls, he comes inside the line and hooks and pulls it with such cleanliness, that’s a rarity. Not just me but everyone apart from SRH players were sad when he got out at 97 and missed the record for fastest century. Sooryavanshi is God’s gift to Indian cricket,”he added.
Gavaskar on Sooryavanshi missing 100: ‘Everyone apart from SRH players were sad’
