As Vaibhav Sooryavanshi prepares to explode vs England U19, Sachin Tendulkar comparisons take a hike: ‘Makes no sense’

Ever since Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's blitz in the IPL for the Rajasthan Royals last year, comparisons between him and Sachin Tendulkar have gone through the roof.

And there goes Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. The 14-year-old finally arrived in the U19 World Cup full of promise, but it wasn’t until the semi-final against Afghanistan that the teenager lived up to his potential. Sooryavanshi smashed 68 runs off 33 balls with the help of nine boundaries and four sixes to set up India's 311-run chase as the five-time champions cruised home with seven wickets in hand and 53 balls to spare. Ian Bishop and Temba Bavuma were both in the commentary box when Sooryavanshi was going hell for leather, and one simply needed to hear them to understand how the opening batter has the world on its feet.

Sachin Tendulkar and Vaibhav Suryavanshi. (@CrickitbyHT, @naishadhjhaveri/x.com)

Entering the U19 World Cup, Sooryavanshi was the toast of the town, with everyone expecting him to score runs for fun. However, going by his recent run-scoring spree, his returns have been a mixed bag in the tournament. He might be averaging 44, returning with a haul of 264 runs in six matches, but even Sooryavanshi would agree that he hasn't the kind of impact that was expected of him.

For starters, teams have planned their bowling better against Sooryavanshi. The novelty factor no longer exists, and it's not surprising considering he has been playing for India U19 for almost a year now. More teams have started bowling short to him around the armpit area, a plan that has led to Vaibhav’s dismissal on several occasions. When he lost his wicket in a similar manner in the semi-final, Bavuma remarked that Sooryavanshi needs to work on this if he wants to have a long international career.

Ahead of the U19 World Cup final against England, Hindustan Times Digital caught up with Sooryavanshi's childhood coach, Manish Ojha, who revealed that the youngster is aware of other teams' plans to go short against him and has been preparing for the same for months before the tournament. To improve, Sooryavanshi approached his coach to work on this area.

"These are big international teams. Big coaches are working alongside them. They are working day in and day out, so obviously, the plans would be there for him. It's true that he has lost his wicket to short balls. But you also need to see that he has scored runs against short balls. Sometimes when a batter has his strong points, he wants to go for that particular shot all the time, and in that process, mistakes tend to happen," said Ojha.

"In the games against Pakistan and Afghanistan, the mode of dismissal was the same. After the semi-final, I spoke to him and explained a few technical points about playing the pull shot. He tends to push his weight back, so I told him to push it forward, and with that, he won't get the top edge. Recently, during the Ranji Trophy, he came to me for 2-3 days. He worked on this particular shot. It's just a case of practising more, when on big tours, the time doesn't allow for a particular shot-based session, and that can be a hindrance," he added.

The final against England would give Sooryavanshi a chance to silence his critics once and for all. The batter, who idolises Yuvraj Singh and Brian Lara, has been piling the runs, but one criticism has been that he has failed to set the stage on fire in big games such as the U19 Asia Cup final. Today’s a big day, as he knows the opponent all too well. The teenager smashed England all around the park last year, scoring 355 runs in five ODIs, where he also set the record for the fastest century in Youth ODIs.

"Wherever he has played so far, he has always scored a big score. So that's due in the U19 World Cup. The way he has been batting, I am hopeful of a big and stunning knock in the final," added Ojha.

"Vaibhav has the experience of scoring runs against England. But every match brings a new challenge. Every ball would be a different challenge. It doesn't matter how many runs he has scored before. But yes, his planning would be better as he knows what England bowlers are like.”

'No comparisons with Sachin Tendulkar'

Ever since his blitz in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the Rajasthan Royals last year, the comparisons between Sooryavanshi and Sachin Tendulkar have gone through the roof. The Master Blaster made his India debut at just 16, prompting cricket nuts to have a field day drawing parallels between the two. However, his coach insists that, beyond making names for themselves early in their careers, there is little else that justifies mentioning him in the same breath as Tendulkar.

"Pehli baat, Vaibhav ki shaili Sachin Tendulkar sahab Jaisi nahi hai. (Firstly, Vaibhav's manner isn't the same as Sachin's.) Sachin is one of the legendary batters to have ever played the sport. There is no comparison between the two, and comparing such a young boy with the Master makes no sense. Vaibhav's game is different; there is a different freshness in that, so comparing him with such a big player isn't right," said Ojha.

"Secondly, Sachin Tendulkar was a very technical batter. If any player could become like him, it would be a dream come true. Whatever I have seen in my cricketing life, I haven't seen a better batter than him. But yes, Vaibhav can learn from Sachin, who redefined cricket," he added.