Buttler recently commented that Sooryavanshi “must be the greatest batsman” he has ever seen. Buttler was behind the stumps last year when Sooryavanshi stormed against Gujarat Titans with a breathtaking hundred for Rajasthan Royals in the IPL, an innings that turned the match around despite Titans posting a substantial total.
Since then the performances have piled up. Towards the end of last year, Sooryavanshi, who represented Bihar against Arunachal Pradesh, became the youngest player to score a list hundred in men’s cricket, hitting 190 runs off just 84 balls. Earlier this month, on the biggest stage in junior cricket, he produced another astonishing knock, scoring 175 off 80 balls in the Under-19 World Cup final to knock England out of the competition.
Former England captains Michael Vaughan and Alastair Cook, along with spinner Phil Tufnell, have since spoken openly about their surprise at what they saw.
“I saw Jos Buttler say that he [Sooryavanshi] has to be the best player he has ever seen. He is only 14 and has a List A hundred to his name. And he is the youngest ever cricketer to score a list 100,” Vaughan said.
Cook then described what impressed him most about the youngster’s batting.
“I didn’t see his T20 hundred, but I saw his other hundred and I thought he was just going to back up and hack it. Very strong. He’s got incredible bat speed. I saw this English guy bowling a long way to him on the fourth stump [referring to the under 19 World Cup match] and it wasn’t a bad ball. He hit it just like that,” Cook said.
Tufnell suggested, partly in jest, that Sooryavanshi could already play at the highest level.
“Take him in there,” he said.
Cook also expressed surprise at the depth of Indian cricket, pointing out that even established players find it difficult to break into the national team. Vaughan summarized the situation with a chuckle.
“Shubman Gill also didn’t make it into that team. Shubman is partying and dancing at Arjun Tendulkar’s [pre wedding celebrations]. Jaiswal can’t even get in, so the Indians could have attacked this guy [Sooryavanshi] straight into the T20 World Cup and he certainly wouldn’t have disappointed,” the former England captain noted.
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