Rajasthan Royals assistant coach Trevor Penney stated on Saturday that Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who is poised to surpass Chris Gayle’s record for the most sixes in an IPL season, doesn’t really need to run between the wickets and there are no questions about his fitness.
Sooryavanshi, 15, is just six shots away from surpassing Gayle’s record of 59 sixes in an IPL season after hitting 53 sixes thus far.
“(Sooryavanshi’s) running between the wickets, (is) very good. But he doesn’t really have to run between the wickets too much, does he? It’s just about to break Chris Gayle’s record for sixes,” PTI quoted Penney as telling reporters on the eve of RR’s contest against Mumbai Indians.
Penney stated that Sooryavanshi’s abilities on the field are undeniable, and he has been kept out of fielding duties during games to keep him fresh for batting.
“He is a very good fielder. He has got great hands. He moves well, he dives, he anticipates, he has got all that. It’s just the way it has worked out and sometimes with him opening the batting, him going in and (in) the second innings being fresh. It has worked for us, so there’s no specific reason of ‘why, oh, he’s a bad fielder, we’re not playing in the field’. It has nothing to do with that. It’s just circumstances,” the former India fielding coach added.
According to Penney, Sooryavanshi is well-cared for but has largely kept quiet around the squad.
“We don’t really have to talk to him too much, he’s just in his little bubble. He practices hard and then when he goes out to play, he just enjoys himself,” Penney said.
“It’s pretty rare that I’ve ever seen that (kind of talent) – I’ve been in cricket for 40 years and I haven’t seen that before so long may that last. We’ve got a really good team, managerial staff (and) support staff that are looking after him. He is very young and the nights are long and that sort of stuff, so we look after him in the evenings.”
Penney continued, “… (we) make sure he practices accordingly and look after all those small things which you have to do with a young boy. But he’s pretty freaky in a way, how he’s dealing with it all.”
According to Penney, RR will keep waiting for the availability of their captain, Riyan Parag, and their injured all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja.
“We’re going to test today, practice to see if we can pick them for tomorrow (Sunday). I can’t say much more than that; (I am) not really on the selection panel. But they’re looking good. (In the) last game, (they) didn’t play and we won. So if they’re not available, I’m sure it’s such a good squad,” he said.
Penney, meantime, stated that it is peculiar that England pacer Jofra Archer is participating in the IPL while missing the opening Test match against New Zealand because of workload management. Michael Vaughan, the former captain of England, has criticized the situation.
“Everybody knows IPL is the thing to come to, so if he misses one game for England, then that’s so weird for him. I think that’s how he’s thinking,” Penney replied.
“It doesn’t bother him, I don’t think. Maybe he’d be a bit annoyed, but I can’t answer for him for that. He’s just getting on as normal. He’s hardly even mentioned it. The guys haven’t even spoken about it. It is what it is. You either come and choose here and annoy people there or you leave here early and then you’re in trouble over never coming back to the IPL again,” he added.
