NEW DELHI: ‘See the ball and tonk the ball’ – that’s the approach young batting prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi follows against any opponent and any bowler in the world. As Rajasthan Royals gear up to face Mumbai Indians in a mouth-watering clash in Guwahati, the spotlight has once again shifted to the 15-year-old sensation, with much of the discussion centred around how he will tackle world-class pacer Jasprit Bumrah.Ahead of the clash, the Rajasthan Royals team management chalked out a plan on a board, leading to a light-hearted moment.
Sooryavanshi, who was looking at the board with Vikram Rathour, Rajasthan Royals’ batting coach, by his side, started with: “Koi to akele batting karega hi na, toh mai kar leta hun akele batting.”After Rathour nodded, Sooryavanshi added: “Aree 5 minute kam kar lunga sir,”.He then began teasing Siddhartha Lahiri, Rajasthan Royals’ performance coach, who was writing the batting plan on the board.“Your game plan is correct,” Sooryavanshi said.Lahiri jokingly replied: “Isko nikalo pehle mere paas se”.Rajasthan Royals will be aiming to register a third consecutive win when they take on five-time champions Mumbai Indians on Tuesday.Mumbai Indians, on the other hand, will be looking to bounce back after their loss to Delhi Capitals.Sooryavanshi has carried his form from last season into the current one.In two innings so far this season, he has scored 83 runs at an average of 41.50 and a strike rate of 237.14, with a 17-ball 52 against Chennai Super Kings as his best score. He has also carried his rich form from the U19 World Cup-winning campaign this year, where he scored 444 runs in seven innings at an average of 62.71 and a strike rate of 169.50, including a century and three fifties.Squads:Rajasthan Royals Squad: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel(w), Riyan Parag(c), Shimron Hetmyer, Donovan Ferreira, Ravindra Jadeja, Jofra Archer, Nandre Burger, Tushar Deshpande, Sandeep Sharma, Ravi Bishnoi, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Brijesh Sharma, Ravi Singh, Shubham Dubey, Adam Milne, Dasun Shanaka, Kuldeep Sen, Sushant Mishra, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Kwena Maphaka, Vignesh Puthur, Aman Rao PeralaMumbai Indians Squad: Ryan Rickelton(w), Rohit Sharma, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Sherfane Rutherford, Naman Dhir, Mitchell Santner, Corbin Bosch, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Mayank Markande, Trent Boult, Robin Minz, Raj Bawa, Ashwani Kumar, Hardik Pandya, Quinton de Kock, Will Jacks, Mayank Rawat, Raghu Sharma, Atharva Ankolekar, AM Ghazanfar, Danish Malewar, Mohammed Salahuddin Izhar.
