At just 15, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi continues to turn heads with his batting, but those who work closely with him are equally impressed by the maturity behind the talent. | Photo Credit: SLC

The cricketing world has spent months marvelling at Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s talent. The sixes have gone viral, the records have drawn headlines, and the excitement around his future has only grown louder. Yet, for those who have worked closely with the 15-year-old, it is not the strokeplay that has left the deepest impression.

It is the maturity.

That, at least, is what has impressed India A coach Hrishikesh Kanitkar during his time with the teenager. Having first worked with Sooryavanshi in the Under-19 set-up and now on India’s ongoing A tour of Sri Lanka, Kanitkar has enjoyed a front-row seat to one of Indian cricket’s quickest and most closely watched rises.

The advantage, Kanitkar feels, is that the two already understand each other.

“Coming into this tour, the good part is that we know each other very well,” Kanitkar told Sportstar. “He understands what I say, why I say things like that. And I know that he is young, but he’s got a great grasp of his batting and his role in the team.”

For a player still in his mid-teens, Sooryavanshi has found himself navigating an environment populated by cricketers either knocking on the doors of the national side or trying to force their way back into contention. It is a dressing room far removed from age-group cricket, one in which players are expected to take ownership of both their preparation and performances.

Kanitkar, however, does not believe the youngster requires special handling.

One of the qualities that stands out, he said, is Sooryavanshi’s willingness to listen and learn.

“One thing about him is that he listens when somebody speaks about his batting and he will put it into practice,” Kanitkar said. “Then we have discussions again, whether it’s working, not working, whatever it is.”

The process, as Kanitkar describes it, is a simple one.

A conversation leads to an adjustment, which is then tested in practice or in a match situation, before another discussion follows. For coaches, that willingness to absorb feedback can be every bit as valuable as technical ability.

Fresh from a memorable IPL season, where Sooryavanshi earned the Orange Cap with a record-breaking 776 runs in 16 matches at a strike rate of 237.30 and shattered the record for the most sixes in a single IPL campaign, the teenager’s preparation has also left an impression on the former India batter.

“As far as his batting is concerned, the way he goes about it, his whole preparation, practice, everything, is very mature,” Kanitkar said. “It’s not like he’s not aware of what the demands will be, or he’s not already preparing for those.”

That level of awareness, according to Kanitkar, means his conversations with Sooryavanshi are often no different from those he has with considerably older players.

“So that way, there’s not a huge difference between what I would talk with him and somebody else who’s older and is playing in India A.”

The attention surrounding Sooryavanshi has inevitably prompted discussions about how carefully he should be managed. At 15, he remains one of the youngest players to find himself under such intense scrutiny, and there is understandable caution around ensuring that the spotlight does not become overwhelming.

As he prepares for his maiden tour of Ireland and England with India’s senior men’s team, the BCCI has allowed his parents to accompany him in an effort to ease the transition.

As India A’s head coach in Sri Lanka, Kanitkar’s approach is rooted in something more fundamental.

“Obviously, you respect personal spaces,” he said. “You respect everyone, doesn’t matter what the age is.”

For him, age should not determine how a player is treated within a team environment.

“Being respected as a person, being understood as a person, matters. It doesn’t matter what age a player is. And it’s the same with Vaibhav as well.”

That does not mean the youngster is navigating the journey alone. Far from it.

Kanitkar pointed out that Sooryavanshi has already spent considerable time working with professionals across different aspects of the game and has become accustomed to the demands of a high-performance environment.

“I think he’s very focused, very committed to his game,” Kanitkar said. “He’s been handled by a lot of professionals throughout the last few months or years.”

As a result, the coach believes the youngster already possesses a fair understanding of what is expected of him.

“So he knows what he should be doing, when to do what,” Kanitkar said.

The support staff, too, have played an important role.

“The fitness experts and the physio, Thulasi (Thulasi Ram Yuvaraj), are very good. Harrsha (A.I. Harrsha), the strength and conditioning coach, is very good. They’re all taking good care of every player, not just Vaibhav.”

Even within a squad packed with talented cricketers, Sooryavanshi’s ability to think ahead has caught the coach’s attention.

“He’s shrewd about the way he needs to prepare, what’s going to come ahead, all those things,” Kanitkar said.

Kanitkar knows that there would be times when the youngster would falter, but being cautious and smart in his approach will help him overcome the slump in form.

The conversation around Sooryavanshi also offered a window into Kanitkar’s broader thinking on player development. Having spent years working within the Centre of Excellence and with India’s World Cup-winning U-19 teams, he has coached players at almost every stage of the pathway.

What has struck him in recent years is the growing maturity of young cricketers entering the system.

“The maturity of the Under-19 players we had and have been having for the last few years is pretty impressive,” Kanitkar said.

Far from arriving as unfinished prospects, many already possess a sophisticated understanding of their games.

“They know their game pretty well. They play a lot of cricket. They spend a lot of time practising and all those things.”

That, he believes, explains why the conversations he has with U-19 players and India A cricketers are often not vastly different.

“It is on similar lines to what I used to talk about with the U-19s and what I am talking about now,” he said.

The difference lies in the details.

India A players, by virtue of having played more cricket at a higher level, require more specific inputs.

“Obviously, in India A, they have played a lot more cricket at the highest level. It’s about smaller aspects of what they need to do. Maybe it could be some way of thinking. It could be something tactical, not necessarily technical,” Kanitkar said.

At the U-19 level, coaches may still need to address technical aspects of a player’s game. By the time players reach India A, the focus shifts increasingly towards game awareness, decision-making and tactical clarity.

“Such things are more predominant in India A than U-19… In U-19, a little bit of technical things comes in. There are a lot of tactical factors as well because they are gaining experience.”

As players move up the ladder, the margins become finer and the conversations more precise.

“They are obviously getting better in tactical, technical, mental, and everything. So the inputs are very specific and just to the point, mostly.”

Kanitkar also touched upon another challenge that comes with working in India’s cricket ecosystem. Players often move between domestic teams, IPL franchises, national pathways and specialist coaches, encountering different ideas and methods along the way.

In that environment, ensuring continuity becomes crucial for coaches at the Centre of Excellence (CoE).

“The good part is that because of the work we do at CoE, we have interactions with all these players throughout the year,” Kanitkar said. “A lot of them are monitored, a lot of them are in touch. Many come to CoE one time or another for practice, training, whatever it is.”

Those interactions help establish familiarity and trust long before a tour squad is assembled.

“The advantage is that the other coaches and I… we get to know them pretty well as people…”

For Kanitkar, that remains the foundation of coaching.

“Once you have that rapport, once that trust is there, for a coach, having the player’s trust is the most important. Once the player trusts you and what you are saying, once he knows what you are saying, it carries weight, and it’s helpful,” Kanitkar said.

From there, things become easier.

“You’re not starting from zero every time,” he said.

And for those entering the system for the first time, his priority remains unchanged.

“That’s the first thing. You need to get to know them as people rather than straight away jump into cricket and all those things,” he said.

It is a philosophy that has guided much of Kanitkar’s work over the years, and one that appears particularly relevant when working with a teenager carrying uncommon expectations.

For now, the cricketing world will continue to marvel at Sooryavanshi’s talent and speculate about how far it might take him. Inside the dressing room, however, Kanitkar sees something just as significant: a youngster who understands his game, embraces feedback and carries himself with a maturity that belies his age.

Published on Jun 15, 2026