As excitement continues to grow around teenage batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, former South Africa batter Daryll Cullinan has urged Indian cricket to protect the 15-year-old from the pressures of early fame, saying the youngster should be allowed to enjoy his childhood before being fast-tracked into international cricket.
Cullinan, who represented South Africa in 70 Tests and 138 ODIs, believes Sooryavanshi’s situation is unlike anything cricket has witnessed before because of the immense spotlight created by the IPL, Indian cricket and social media.
“What we are seeing in Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is not simply a talented boy playing above his age. It is something cricket has genuinely never had to deal with before – namely, a child placed at the centre of one of the most commercially powerful, globally visible and socially amplified sporting environments ever created: Indian cricket and the IPL,” Cullinan wrote in a column for Cricinfo.
“Cricket has seen prodigies. It has seen young players arrive early and carry labels they did not ask for. But it has not seen this precise combination before, of innocence, extraordinary gift, and a social media world that has abolished nearly every distance between a child and the opinions of hundreds of millions. Sooryavanshi is 15, living a life that is not proceeding at the ordinary pace of growing up. This needs careful consideration before it is too late,” he added.
Drawing on examples of other sporting prodigies whose careers failed to live up to their early promise, Cullinan said Sooryavanshi’s development must be handled with patience rather than haste.
“In my view he should be at home preparing for his exams, playing gully cricket with his mates, and being a young boy while he still has the chance. That does not mean ignoring his talent. It means understanding that the talent will only be truly served if the person carrying it is allowed to grow whole,” Cullinan wrote.
The former South African batter also compared Sooryavanshi’s rise with that of Sachin Tendulkar, noting that although Tendulkar entered international cricket as a teenager, he benefited from experienced people around him who helped shield him from outside pressures.
According to Cullinan, that protective layer is much weaker in today’s social media era, where young cricketers are constantly exposed to public opinion. He believes Tendulkar is the ideal person to guide the youngster through this phase.
“It is my sincere hope that he will turn to Tendulkar for guidance. He could not be more lucky than to have a mentor in a fellow Indian cricketer who has been through it all and seen it all, and who will have his best interests at heart,” he concluded.