Ishan Kishan reveals Team India's plan to protect Vaibhav Sooryavanshi: 'We just make sure...'

Ishan also underlined the need to protect him from distractions, explaining that the senior players making a conscious effort to keep Vaibhav focused.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's rise to the Indian team at just 15 has brought immense attention and equally high expectations. In that environment, Ishan Kishan has become an important presence for the youngster. Coming from the same region, the two have built a strong rapport on and off the field. As one of the senior players in the squad, Ishan has been helping Vaibhav navigate the challenges that come with representing India at such a young age while keeping his focus firmly on cricket.

Ishan Kishan lauded Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and called him smart. (AFP)

After the second T20I against Zimbabwe, Ishan was asked about his equation with the young batter. The Indian wicketkeeper-batter spoke highly of Vaibhav, saying the teenager has a good understanding of both his game and how he should conduct himself despite his age. Ishan also underlined the need to protect him from distractions, explaining that the senior players in the dressing room are making a conscious effort to keep Vaibhav focused on cricket instead of social media attention and the noise that comes with early success.

"Vaibhav is actually very smart. He knows what he is doing, how he needs to bat, how he needs to conduct himself off the field, and how to be on the field. But at the same time, I feel that because of where he comes from, there can be a lot of distractions there. There can be many distractions in your friend circle. And having come out from that same background, I know that, you know, when you play cricket, when you represent India, what are the things you need to focus on. I just try to ensure that. Not only me, I think along with him, myself, Abhishek, Axar bhai, and a lot of players, whoever interacts with him in any way, we just make sure that right now, he thinks as much as possible about cricket, rather than what’s happening on social media, or what the outside noise is, or letting your body language drop if you aren't scoring runs," Ishan said in the press conference after 2nd T20I.

Continuing on the same note, Ishan explained why the Indian team is making a conscious effort to keep Vaibhav away from unnecessary distractions.

"We just try to ensure he doesn't fall into those thought processes. And looking at, especially the kind of player he is, and we know that if he stays at the pitch, if a player like him stays at the crease, how much of a difference it can create for your team when a batter goes out and hits from the very first ball, and you end the first six overs of the powerplay at 80–90 runs," he added.

Sooryavanshi earned his India call-up on the back of a record-breaking IPL season, but the 15-year-old endured a difficult start to his international career. His blistering 18-ball half-century against Zimbabwe, however, came as a timely breakthrough and a major confidence boost after a string of low scores.

“We are like brothers, he comes from the same place I do”

The wicketkeeper batter explained that the dressing room wants Vaibhav to enjoy the game without being burdened by outside distractions, adding that, as someone who comes from the same place, he sees the youngster like a younger brother and wants to help him avoid the mistakes that many cricketers make early in their careers.

"When you have a player like that and you know he is very young, you would never want him to get distracted for the wrong reasons. So our job as teammates, especially since we are like brothers, and he comes from the same place I do, our main focus is just to keep him happy, make him focus on the important things, and ensure he doesn't repeat the mistakes we made in our early days. Whether that's in terms of mindset or physical fitness, however it may be, as a brother, we just want him not to repeat those mistakes and to keep enjoying his cricket, just like he is doing right now," he concluded.