Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar questioned the Rajasthan Royals’ move to use opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi as an Impact Player during its game against the Gujarat Titans.
Manjrekar feels a move as such restricts the abilities of a young player of Sooryavanshi’s stature in the long run. “We know there’s massive talk about Sooryavanshi making his international debut for India. And when he does that, he has to field; no one’s going to sub him out. So, we are hampering his development as a fielder, and that is an issue that’s going to be there. It is fortunate that India won the last T20 World Cup despite the Impact Sub being there and a guy like Shivam Dube not bowling at all in the IPL,” he says.
The cricketer turned broadcaster also added that one has to see all three dimensions of a player in order to fairly rate him. “Isn’t a cricketer somebody who bats well and fields well as well? Vaibhav Sooryavanshi... you want to see him on the field and also see what happens when he is put under pressure as well. If he’s a great batter but a slight liability on the field, I’d like to see that exploited,” he added.
Sooryavanshi has scored 440 runs at an average of 40, with a strike rate of 236.56 in IPL 2026.
Published on May 12, 2026