Former Indian batter turned commentator Robin Uthappa believes 15-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi could ultimately overtake the legendary Indian player Sachin Tendulkar in white-ball cricket. However, Uthappa also warned Suryavanshi about the many external factors that could halt his progress towards greatness, pointing to Vinod Kambli and Prithvi Shaw as examples as well.
Notably, Suryavanshi recently became the youngest-ever to play for India at 15 years and 99 days, overtaking Tendulkar’s record in the process as well. Following a poor start to his Team India career in his maiden series against England, he dominated in the following T20I series in Zimbabwe as well.
Uthappa said on the CommBoxTV YouTube channel, “He could have a bigger impact on white-ball than Tendulkar. But how he’s managed is going to be important. We’ve seen in Indian cricket exciting players come through the ranks. We saw Vinod Kambli and Prithvi Shaw and started asking what they would become when they were 17-18 years old. And then suddenly they fall off the wagon.”
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“So that will be Vaibhav’s first test. Can he stay pristine for the game over a period of five years? He’s 15 now, so can he stay pristine till he’s 20? There’s so much innocence to who he is that you want that to be protected. I love the fact that he’s saying no to every advertisement and he’s focusing only on cricket. Because when he’s 18, he’ll start being perceived as a man and the female attention will come. That can be a distraction as well,” he again shared.
Robin Uthappa also believes Vaibhav Suryavanshi must overcome a lot of setbacks throughout his career to achieve success at the highest level for an extended period. Sachin Tendulkar also enjoyed a great 24-year international career and remains the all-time leading run-scorer with over 34,000 runs and 100 centuries as well.
“There will be trials and tribulations in his career, and how he overcomes those will be key. I only hope he has the right support system and mentors to protect him from the world and allow him to live in a bubble until he is ready to explore the outside world. His career is not going to be pristine as much as we want it to be. There are going to be ups and downs as part of the journey,” concluded Robin Uthappa.
