Spin legend Anil Kumble lauds Sooryavanshi’s consistency

In awe of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s power-hitting, Indian spin legend Anil Kumble said he is also very impressed with the consistency that the fearless youngster has exhibited in the ongoing IPL.

Sooryavanshi made history by smashing 65 sixes in a single IPL season. This extraordinary feat shattered the previous all-time IPL record of 59 sixes, which was held by West Indian marauder Chris Gayle since 2012.

The 15-year-old is the highest run-scorer and Orange Cap holder of the ongoing IPL, amassing 680 runs in just 15 innings for Rajasthan Royals. He also recently broke the world record for scoring the most runs in a single T20 series by a teenager.

“Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is the Orange Cap holder, and that doesn’t come from doing it just once or against a couple of teams. He’s done it consistently over the last two months, and that says a lot about the youngster.

“It’s not just about going out there and bashing a few sixes, even though he is the highest six-hitter now,” Kumble told JioHotstar’s ‘Game Plan’.

Kumble said Sooryavanshi’s breath-taking season has put some pressure on his opening partner Yashasvi Jaiswal, who has had a subdued run by his standards.

Jaiswal has scored 426 runs in 15 matches at an average of 32.77 and a strike rate of 153.24.

“The bowlers have bowled well at him, but he will still be under pressure. The whole limelight that was on Yashasvi Jaiswal a couple of years ago is still there, but now someone who is just 15 years old has gone ahead and taken the world by storm,” Kumble said.

“Even in the game against SRH, the partnership was fantastic. They scored almost 120 runs in about eight overs, but the bulk of the scoring was done by Sooryavanshi.

“Yashasvi will be disappointed that on such a good wicket, he scored at a run-a-ball,” he added.