He already has a century in the most premier format of the franchise based competition. He usually gets off the mark by way of carving a huge six or hitting an incredible boundary. In many ways, that’s his go to mantra. Even the last evening, as seen in the game against the Lucknow Super Giants, he hit a boundary off the very first ball he faced. What’s more? He began his strong current IPL Season with a break taking and freewheeling half century. His batting strike rate especially in the team’s batting power play is easily north of 200. That’s been the dominant discourse of the day. And yet, perhaps somewhere we all tend to forget that Vaibhav Suryavanshi is still a kid, yes, if you think about it! Isn’t it?

And keeping in mind what has been said above, there is a recent very jovially expressed statement on the part of Vaibhav Suryavanshi himself that tends to attest the very fact that despite all the cricketing brilliance and his batting stance being actually compared to none other than the great Sir Sobers, the left hander, we ought to remind ourselves, is still very much a kid. And that’s not even a mean statement. But a matter of fact.

So the big point here being - what is it that Suryavanshi said?

A few hours ago, in the wake of his Rajasthan Royals’ incredible triumph against the Lucknow Super Giants, in a post match interaction with a media person, the young top order opening batter of the RR happened to highlight a very simple and honest statement that goes a long way to explain something about him. He happened to share the following

“I still watch cartoons” That does offer a glimpse into the simple and childlike nature of a cricketer who when not relaxing or chilling out at home or with his friends, is a fierce competitor.  

What else? 

Moreover, the very statement goes a long way to explain the fact that this Brian Lara adoring batter whose batting style has earned him comparisons with one of Lara’s own favourites - Sir Sobers- is childlike at heart.

Very often, in the hustle and bustle of modern day competitive cricket where the sense of competition of simply fierce, we tend to perhaps undermine or forget that the cricketers, too, at the end of the day, beyond the musings of the competitive turf, are human.

And are allowed to be just that. Aren’t they?

He debuted in the testing waters of the Indian Premier League at the ripe young childlike age of 13.

Many at that age are perhaps still struggling to find form in backyard cricket. Then, aged 15, which is where he is now at the moment, Vaibhav Suryavanshi broke the record for hitting the fastest 500 IPL Runs.

While he is steadily hitting big numbers and attacking bowlers- good, bad and harsh- all along the way, he is still very much a child and being his age.

What do you think! 

He can very well ace best of bowlers and be his age whilst watching cartoons when not playing cricket.