3 min readUpdated: Mar 23, 2026 03:35 PM IST
Within the year of his sensational arrival on the IPL stage, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has gotten the entire cricketing world to stand up and take notice of his exceptionally rare and blinding range as a batter. The dashing Rajasthan Royals southpaw scored the fastest IPL hundred by an Indian in 35 balls last year, and has since butchered records at the under-19 level. The rampage culminated with an ICC U19 World Cup title and a thunderous 80-ball 175 in the final against England in February.
South Africa batting legend AB de Villiers raved about the innate maturity that Sooryavanshi exuded during the tournament. However, de Villiers faced a sharp counter from India and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) wicket-keeper, Jitesh Sharma, who has had the experience of leading Sooryavanshi recently. The 14-year-old had stormed into the India A side last year for the Rising Stars Asia Cup in Qatar, where Jitesh was his captain. And while de Villiers regarded Sooryavanshi as a thorough professional already, Jitesh could only see an easy-go-lucky kid in the Bihar batter.
“He’s a great player. I watched him during the Under-19s. It’s not always easy to maintain the same standards once you’ve tasted IPL and big-league cricket. But I was very impressed with how he played in that World Cup-very professional. He’s incredibly mature for his age,” de Villiers remarked in a chat with Jitesh on his YouTube channel.
“I’m talking about the way he played. He stuck to his game plan. He played the same way he did in the IPL. He didn’t try to be someone else. He wasn’t arrogant against the bowlers. But he will become professional,” he added.
‘Don’t eat ice cream at night’
Responding in the negative, Jitesh raised eyebrows as he claimed that Sooryavanshi was far out from being a disciplined cricketer off the field.
“He’s still a baby and he’s not professional that I can tell you,” Jitesh responded with a chuckle.
“Everyone is trying to get him to be professional, but I don’t think he ever will be, at least not off the field. On the field, maybe. I’m trying my best. I ask him not to have ice cream at night, but he never listens,” Jitesh added.
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Sooryavanshi, will however, trim his focus on bludgeoning the big boys yet again when he gears up to open the batting for Rajasthan, starting April 30, against the Chennai Super Kings.
