Vaibhav Sooryavanshi may not be a regular part of India’s Playing XI right now, but in two years, he has done enough to make himself a national sensation. Scratch that. Worldwide sensation. He may be the most popular 15-year-old sportsman; only Lamine Yamal has a larger following, given football's popularity. But as far as cricket goes, Sooryavanshi is right up there, with no one coming close to the rage he has become.
Sooryavanshi has shared the dressing room with most of India’s T20 World Cup-winning cricketers. And his ascendancy means competition for others. Sanju Samson might be Sooryavanshi’s direct competition, but one of his captains, Dhruv Jurel, who has been piling the runs for India in Tests, feels the teenager’s talent makes him a cut above the rest. Asked if there is a feeling of comparison, Jurel flatly refused, saying that, at the end of the day, comparisons are only possible between two players with similar skill sets.
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“He deserves all the praise. What he does is something you can’t even dream of. A 15-year-old kid smashing everybody. It’s just WOW. Honestly, there’s no jealousy. There’s no comparison either. What is there to compare? It’s beyond comprehension. Comparisons happen when you think you can do something similar. He is too good. An unbelievable kid. We watch in awe, and he makes life easier for us as batters. In the Powerplay, he keeps smashing, and watching him, you feel that if we get a chance, we should also start hitting, because he just keeps smashing,” Jurel told Aakash Chopra on the former India opener’s podcast.
{{/usCountry}}“He deserves all the praise. What he does is something you can’t even dream of. A 15-year-old kid smashing everybody. It’s just WOW. Honestly, there’s no jealousy. There’s no comparison either. What is there to compare? It’s beyond comprehension. Comparisons happen when you think you can do something similar. He is too good. An unbelievable kid. We watch in awe, and he makes life easier for us as batters. In the Powerplay, he keeps smashing, and watching him, you feel that if we get a chance, we should also start hitting, because he just keeps smashing,” Jurel told Aakash Chopra on the former India opener’s podcast.
{{/usCountry}}Jurel has been in red-hot form, recently finishing as India's second-highest run-scorer of the series - behind Devdutt Padikkal - and third-best overall with 173 runs, including two fifties and a hundred.
About Jurel
Jurel made his Test debut against England in Rajkot and played a breakout knock in his next match in Ranchi, helping India secure a victory and take a 3-1 lead in the five-match series. Until today, Jurel has played 12 Tests for India, scoring 651 runs with a best of 125. The wicketkeeper-batter has experience leading India A and has become a household name, his popularity increasing in the IPL with the Rajasthan Royals.
Initially, Jurel was fighting for a spot with Pant in the Test playing XI, but later the management chose to play him as a specialist batter.