Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is quickly emerging as one of the most talked-about young names in Indian cricket. At just 15, the left-handed batter has already created huge buzz with his fearless strokeplay, his ability to take on proven international bowlers, and the growing maturity he has shown at such a young age. His impressive rise in the recent IPL has led many to believe that an India debut is only a matter of time.

But the last few days have also shown how quickly the spotlight can turn. Sooryavanshi has struggled to convert starts for India A in the ongoing Tri-Nation A Series in Sri Lanka, and he has also found himself in the middle of controversy after a physical altercation with an opponent. Reports suggest that disciplinary action could follow, adding another layer of pressure to a teenager already dealing with enormous attention.

For a player of his age, the jump from being celebrated to being criticised can be difficult to handle. That is why Paddy Upton, the mental conditioning coach who was part of India’s 2011 ODI World Cup-winning setup, has urged the team management to prepare Sooryavanshi for failure as much as success. In his view, the real test for a young cricketer begins when the runs dry up, and the outside noise gets louder.

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“One of the first things I would do is prepare him (Sooryavanshi) for failure,” Paddy Upton told Sportstar. “To say there’s a good chance that in your first two or three innings, you don’t score runs. What is that going to feel like? What’s that going to look like? What’s that experience going to be like? And how are you going to manage yourself? So one of the key things is to prepare him for failure. That’s going to come, whether it comes now or later, it’s going to come.”

Upton stressed that failure is never the end of the road. What matters most, he explained, is how a youngster responds to setbacks, criticism and the pressure that comes with instant fame. According to him, every promising player eventually faces a rough patch, and the ones who last are usually the ones who are mentally ready for it.

“We’ve seen enough quickly rising young superstars in India over the last 5-6 years, who’ve had a great IPL and who’ve been labelled as the next Sachin Tendulkar or the next Virat Kohli or the next MS Dhoni,” he said.

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“And the majority of them, we don’t see them anymore. They’ve just sort of returned to the ranks of the rest of the international IPL cricketers. And often, that is them getting caught up in the external noise, getting caught up in the expectations. And my big question was, would be, I wonder who is working with him (Sooryavanshi) around that? Because that’s one thing players have identified over and over in sport is helping someone deal with sudden fame,” he added.

For Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, the talent is clear. The bigger challenge now is learning how to stay steady when the pressure starts to rise.