3 min readApr 18, 2026 05:27 PM IST
Rajasthan Royals head coach Kumar Sangakkara said that opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi must enjoy his cricket and that “less said, the better” for him. Sooryavanshi is on fire in the IPL, having scored 200 runs in 5 innings with the help of two fifties. He, however, had a rare misfire in the last match when he was dismissed for a duck by Sunrisers Hyderabad debutant Praful Hinge.
“My message to Vaibhav is simple: enjoy everything. Whether it’s 100 off 35 balls, 50 off 15, or a first-ball duck — you’re allowed to score runs, and you’re allowed to fail. It’s part and parcel of cricket,” the RR director of cricket said on the high expectations surrounding the young gun.
“Vaibhav is such an exciting young player. People talk about talent, but they should also understand the amount of work he puts in at the nets. He reads the game really well, anticipates situations, and plans against bowlers effectively.”
Sooryavanshi, who turned 15 last month, returned for his second IPL season with high expectations after scoring an explosive 80-ball 175 in India’s Under-19 World Cup triumph in February.
He lit up the IPL with a 17-ball 52 against five-time champions Chennai Super Kings in their opening match, and since then has not looked back, with an eye-popping strike rate of over 263 after five innings.
He started with a first-ball six against Jasprit Bumrah in their clash with Mumbai Indians, and then took Josh Hazlewood apart against RCB, hitting three fours and a six in succession.
On his failure against SRH, Sangakkara said he will figure things out as he goes along.
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“The nature of opening in T20 cricket today is all-out attack. He’ll figure things out as he goes along. For a player like that, sometimes the less said, the better.
“I just want him to remain that 15-year-old kid who goes out and bats with a sense of wonder. That’s how he’ll truly progress. Low scores will happen to him and to everyone else, but I’m very happy to have Vaibhav with us.”
(With agency inputs)
