Three days after his record-breaking show in Jaipur, which had the entire world go gaga, 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi incurred a heartbreak. On Thursday, at the same venue, the Rajasthan Royals opener was dismissed for a two-ball duck against the Mumbai Indians.
Cricket fraternity could not get enough of Vaibhav, who earlier this week became the youngest-ever T20 centurion and the fastest Indian to the milestone, when he clobbered 11 sixes and seven boundaries in his 35-ball ton against the Gujarat Titans at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium. However, the night of celebration was followed by sheer disappointment as he was dismissed for a duck by Deepak Chahar on Thursday.
The ploy seemed clear from Chahar - to keep it full and onto the stumps. He dug out the first one to cover for no run, but then looked to take on the bowler, by aiming for the long-on boundary, but mistimed it to the fielder at mid-on.
Vaibhav was left shocked at his early dismissal as he stood there at the crease for a while with his hands on his hips, before making his way back to the dugout.
What did Sunil Gavaskar say about Vaibhav?
{{/usCountry}}Vaibhav was left shocked at his early dismissal as he stood there at the crease for a while with his hands on his hips, before making his way back to the dugout.
What did Sunil Gavaskar say about Vaibhav?
{{/usCountry}}Even as world cricket could not stop praising Vaibhav for his knock, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar warned that it was important not to praise him to the skies. He stressed the need to nurture him carefully under the watchful eyes of Rajasthan head coach Rahul Dravid.
"Not at all, not at all. I mean, look — when he entered the auction, he had already scored a hundred against Australia in a youth Test, and that was against a pretty good attack. For a 13-year-old to score a hundred against an international team, albeit not their top side, still shows the lad had talent. And he has just gone on and on from there," Gavaskar told JioStar during the match between the Royals and Mumbai Indians.
"I think he's going to develop his game even more. Sitting with Rahul Dravid, he will learn how to temper his innings — he is only going to get better and better. I do believe that he is someone we shouldn't praise to the skies.
"And in this case, we just get the feeling, even in his very first game, with the first ball he faced, he hit it for six. Now, that should not become something he feels he must live up to every time. Experienced bowlers will think, 'Ah, he wants to hit the first ball for six?' They will bowl it short, and then he might get out. Then, he could start to worry and overthink things.
"But really, anyone who scores 50 or 60 in a T20 match has done well. To get a hundred at this level is absolutely magnificent, especially against the quality of bowlers he's facing today — literally some of the best in the world," Gavaskar added.