Every now and then a superstar emerges in a sport and they are hailed a generational talent and sometimes that label maybe too loosely used. In most sports it happens at some point where you are just in awe at some youngster coming through the ranks due to their exceptional talent and skills.
In tennis we had Borris Becker, Formula One Max Verstappen, darts Luke Littler and golf Tiger Woods. Sports such as rugby which is a physical contact sport you will not find a youngster at 15 coming through the ranks due to being protected and not being allowed to compete with adults due to the dangers of the sport. Your body is still growing and developing so this would not be allowed no matter how good you were.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is a 15 year old kid from India that is taking the cricket world by storm smashing the top bowlers all around the ground. Nothing seems to phase him and he has the bowlers trying to find his weakness and there does not seem like there are any. I played cricket to a high standard playing in the first division club cricket league in Durban and over the years I have seen and played with exceptional players who were or became legends of the game and this kid is on another level.
The other evening Vaibhav smashed 97 runs off 29 balls and missed breaking the record for the fastest century in the IPL only because he was dismissed. This is only a matter of time before he achieves this as he also holds the 3rd and 5th fastest centuries recorded. The bowlers are in shock as you do not expect a 15 year old kid who should still be in school dominate you looking like an average player.
The thing is what were you doing at 15 and you thought you were a half decent player but would never be facing balls being delivered at 150 kph and dominating those balls. This is unheard of and the Indian Cricket Board has had to place a minimum age on players being 15 now. Vaibhav joined his franchise when he was only 13 having been given a contract of $150K , but more importantly the back up of a full coaching staff that will help him achieve his true potential. Last season he smashed a century when he was 14 so everyone knew the real potential, flair and talent was very much evident in this kid.
Vaibhav plays for the Rajasthan Royals franchise and this season is the leading run scorer in the entire IPL tournament having passed 600 runs already with possibly two matches still to play. 400 runs in an IPL season is regarded as excellent and who knows he could surpass 700 runs. he is also the leading 6 hitter with a strike rate of close to 240 which means for every 100 balls faced he is scoring 240 runs which is close to 15 runs per 6 ball over.
The talk on everyone's lips is when is he going to make his full India debut because surely he cannot be held back due to his age. The saying he is too young or too inexperienced cannot be used as he has already proven he is more than ready. If there were any questions prior to the IPL he has already answered them and some.
The one thing that Vaibhav is guaranteed is that his contract numbers will rise significantly and he will be very wealthy. Cricket is the number one sport in India and is going to be the biggest super star they have ever seen even bigger than Dhoni. His family have sacrificed so much to get him to this point having ensured he has been training with specialized coaches since he was 8 years old. This involved a 3 hour journey to practice each time and why the family had to sell their farm and move closer to the city.
