At just 15, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is already showing that he can influence a game in more ways than one. While the youngster has earned attention for his batting, his bowling came to the fore when East Zone needed a breakthrough in the Duleep Trophy.
East Zone, led by Ishan Kishan, was finding it difficult to dismiss the North East Zone batters. That was when Sooryavanshi was given an opportunity with his left-arm spin. He grabbed it with both hands, taking two wickets in three overs and conceding just 11 runs.
His wickets helped East Zone strengthen its grip on the match, with Sooryavanshi dismissing Kishan Lyngdoh and Imliwati Lemtur during his short spell.
After East Zone’s victory, Sooryavanshi opened up about his bowling experience and revealed that Kishan had initially considered giving him the ball a risk. The teenager, however, felt confident about his ability to produce wickets.
“If you ask any batter, he enjoys bowling. Or if you ask a bowler, he enjoys batting. The opponents weren’t losing wickets, so I was asked to bowl 2-3 overs. Ishan bhaiya thought that he was taking a risk in giving me the ball. But he didn’t know that I’m a wicket taker,” Sooryavanshi said in a video shared by BCCI Domestic.
The 15-year-old also explained that he was aware he would have only a few overs to make an impact. His plan was simply to maintain a consistent line and length.
“I always knew that even if I take five wickets, I will only get three overs to bowl. So I tried to bowl as well as I could. I was just trying to repeatedly land the ball in one area. It’s a lot of fun. I didn’t do well with the bat in the last match. So it’s a lot of fun to contribute to the team’s bowling. And of course, if a batter takes a wicket, he never enjoys it more than that. So it’s a lot of fun,” he added.
