Former Team India fielding coach R Sridhar has shared his views on the teen Indian batter Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who was heavily used as an Impact Player by the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
However, Sooryavanshi showed his fielding heroics for India in T20Is, India A, and the East Zone in recent campaigns. Speaking to the select media on Sony Sports Network, Sridhar called for a special fielding development plan for the young cricketer to improve his fielding.
“He’s 15. So, you’re still a kid, right? So, someone there has to really run his program, a really honest program, I feel. I mean, although he’s in an international elite environment where athletes are aware of what they need to do, and how they need to manage their workloads,” R Sridhar said on Sony Sports Network.
“But someone as young as 15 sometimes needs to be told. So, I think someone there has to make a schedule for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, where he has to deal with a lot in practice and make himself ready to field in the match as well, because at 15, if you are being subbed out, it’s not a great sign,” he added.
Further, the former coach advised the Indian team management to elevate Sooryavanshi as a very good fielder in the next three to four years, addressing the minor issues he has been facing on the field, highlighting his near mishap in the Asian Games 2026 final.
“So obviously, I think by 18 or 19, you would want Vaibhav to evolve as a very, very good fielder. We saw that he had a near mishap in that Asian Games 2026 Final. That was a near mishap, which could have really caused an injury, so these are the things that need to be addressed,” R Sridhar said.
“Somebody has to take Vaibhav and ensure that he’s practicing fielding every day. He can bowl a bit of left arm spin, but we’ll save that for later. But now it is very clear from my part that he has to work very hard on his fielding, and someone has to tell that to him,” he concluded.
