Vikram Rathour told Saba Karim when the former stumper wondered aloud if Vaibhav Sooryavanshi might face second-season blues this year, ‘Saba, just wait and watch.’ I think he is equally prepared to handle any kind of delivery.” Speaking to JioHotstar, Karim said Sooryavanshi is reading bowlers quickly – calling it his best quality.
While the world awaits his inauguration in international cricket, Sooryavanshi has added a broad swath of shots to his repertoire in 2026, and looks ready, Karim said.
“This is the best trait of Vaibhav’s batting. He realises very quickly where the bowlers might target him, takes a few balls to assess whether he has the shots in his armoury to score against those deliveries, and prepares accordingly,” Karim explained, elaborating, “That kind of preparation is what he has done. That’s why this year we have seen him start to play the upper cut against shorter deliveries, hit through the covers with a strong base, go over long-off, over cover, and play inside-out shots. All these shots that he has added to his scoring repertoire mean that now, whatever the conditions are, whatever the bowling attack is, he is ready.”
Opening up the off-side for his fearless hitting shows his talent and ability to remain a tempest, Karim reckoned.
Speaking on JioStar’s Game Plan, the expert admitted he had a few reservations earlier. “I didn’t expect him to score in his very first year. But before last season’s IPL, I remember getting a lot of videos from all his coaches, Manish Ojha from the Patna academy, our Bhojpuri commentator Robin, and a few others, saying, ‘Sir, you have to watch him. He’s a kid, but he has great timing.’ When he was bought in the auction, I was just hoping that he would get a chance to play at least once because I wanted the world to see that India now has such a talented player.”
He recalls being impressed. “Just imagine, you’re playing your first match on such a big platform, up against a top-quality bowler who has played for India. He had no baggage whatsoever. The first ball he faced, he completely dismissed the bowler from his sight. This is what Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is all about,” Karim says.
Skeptics had worried even after he scored that record 170-odd in the Under-19 World Cup final, with bowlers expected to come up with plans to cramp him. “Everybody still felt that in the second season, it was possible that bowlers would come with definite plans against him and cause him problems, targeting his body and identifying areas to trouble him. But I didn’t feel that he would have second-season blues. I felt that he was well prepared, and he batted in the same way,” Karim said.
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“I remember having a chat with Vikram Rathour, who is the batting coach at Rajasthan Royals, where I asked him if Vaibhav could find it challenging against top-quality bowling or short-pitched deliveries at 145-150 clicks.”
Karim was sure Sooryavanshi could play all three formats for India – not unlike Virat Kohli’s 2016 season which showed his wife range. “In my opinion, in the history of the IPL, perhaps after that season of Virat Kohli when he scored so many runs, if one season has to be defined, it is Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s IPL, IPL 2026. The kind of performances he has put in against top-quality bowlers, even though in Indian conditions, have been top-notch. I have full faith in his ability to score big runs. Not only Indian fans but the entire world is waiting to see Vaibhav Sooryavanshi play in the same manner that he did in the IPL. I have high hopes for this young lad. Very soon, we will see him in all three formats. I am dead sure about it,” Karim declared.
