Ishan Kishan Reveals Plan To Protect Vaibhav Sooryavanshi From Social Media

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Ishan Kishan [Source: AFP]

The India vs Zimbabwe second T20I hero, Ishan Kishan, has come up with some interesting advice for 15-year-old youngster Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. Kishan, who slammed a quick-fire 44-ball 81 in his second match of the Zimbabwe tour, encouraged Sooryavanshi, who is currently breaking out in the Indian cricketing scene.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has been a treasure for India's domestic cricket, where, in the IPL, he earned his name through breathtaking opening charisma. However, after earning his maiden call-up to the national team for the Ireland and England tour, he failed to prove his worth.

After being left out of the Ireland series, Sooryavanshi was given a chance in the second T20I against England. However, in three consecutive matches, he returned with underwhelming figures, which also had the internet trolling him for a poor debut. Adding strength and hope for the young opener, Ishan Kishan shared his tips to become invincible both on and off the field. 

Ishan Kishan gives social media advice to Vaibhav Sooryavanshi

After the India vs Zimbabwe second T20I match ended, Kishan shared that the senior members of the squad are helping Sooryavanshi settle into the international cricket scene with encouraging words despite several distractions in the game. 

Kishan revealed that, alongside him, Abhishek Sharma, Axar Patel, and other players are regularly speaking to Vaibhav to make sure that he remains focused on the game.

"Vaibhav is actually very smart. He knows what he is doing. He knows how he has to bat and how he has to carry himself on and off the field. When you represent India, you have to know what to focus on. Me, Abhishek, Axar bhai and many others keep telling him to think about cricket, not social media or outside noise," Kishan shared as quoted by TOI.

Social media and early fame are known to be the biggest distractors to a cricketer's success, and Ishan Kishan pointed out the very enemy of the young talent and how they are guiding him to stay focused rather than getting distracted by it. 

“When you have such a player and you know that he is very young, you will never want him to be distracted for the wrong reasons. So our job as a team, we are like brothers and he comes from my place, so we just have to be happy, focus on the important things. The mistakes we have made in our starting, he should not do that. He should enjoy his cricket, like he is doing now,” Kishan added.

Also Read- India Planning To Turn Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Into An All-Rounder

Kishan praises Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s attacking mindset from ball one

Kishan also believes that Sooryavanshi has a solid attacking style with the bat, and his playing style will bring a major impact on India's future performances as well. 

Hence, grooming him from such a young age will only add to the advantage of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, as well as the team management.

"If he stays on the pitch, the difference he can create for the team is huge. A player who can attack from the first ball can take you to 80-90 runs in the powerplay," Ishan Kishan said.

Sooryavanshi and his powerplay heroics

It is worth noting that Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is a menace in the powerplay overs. In the IPL, he has taken advantage of 23 innings, where, in the powerplays, he has faced 293 deliveries and scored 665 runs at an average of 60.0, underlining his consistency with the bat in the opening overs as a left-handed opener. 

His strike rate stands at 227.0 in the powerplays in the IPL, with a dot-ball percentage of 38.2 and a dismissal rate of only 47.82. As an opener, Sooryavanshi is a solid contributor.

However, it is also to be noted that Sooryavanshi is not a very agile player of spin. Against spinners, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has been dismissed 66.66 per cent of the time and has an average of only 27.8 from the six innings he has faced them. 

Although he has a strike rate of 264.3, he has been useful in the T20I format. He has not been as useful against spin as he is against pace in the T20I format while playing for India or India A.

Also Read- Abhishek Sharma Breaks Historic Indian Record With Stunning 3/17 vs Zimbabwe