Rajasthan Royals head coach Kumar Sangakkara believes teenage batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is grounded enough to cope with the spotlight, saying “fame and flash” are unlikely to distract the 15-year-old as he begins his journey in top-level cricket.

Vaibhav, who is currently touring Ireland and England with the Indian team, continues to be tipped for an international debut during the ongoing T20I assignments.

Having closely watched the youngster during the IPL, Sangakkara said Vaibhav has the temperament and mindset to make a lasting impact on Indian and world cricket.

“He will have many opportunities ahead, in cricket and commercially. How he balances that, and the support he gets from his family and the team, will be crucial,” Sangakkara told Sky Sports.

“But one thing I can say for sure is that Vaibhav loves batting. He loves the game. The fame and flash don’t really affect him. He is very grounded and curious about many things.”

Sangakkara also said Vaibhav has a healthy balance in life and is not consumed by cricket alone.

“He doesn’t just live and breathe cricket all the time. He has space for other things. I have no doubt he will be a force for Indian cricket, world cricket, and franchise cricket. Mentally, he is in a good place. I think he will deal with everything that comes with fame very well,” he said.

Recalling the contest between the Royals and Lucknow Super Giants last season, Sangakkara revealed the confidence Sooryavanshi carries.

“We were playing against Lucknow Super Giants. They needed to defend 220 to stay alive in the tournament. We fielded first, and as the chase was about to begin, Vaibhav was walking out to open. Before heading to the middle, he looked at me, winked, and said, ‘Coach, don’t worry. It’s done,” he said.

“Then he walked into the dressing room and told Donovan Ferreira and Lhuan-dre Pretorius, ‘Listen you two, I’m going to hit 13 sixes today. After that, you just finish the job.’ He ended up hitting 10 sixes in that game.” “Donovan and Lhuan-dre thought he was joking at first. But when he reached five sixes, they started counting down because they realised he was actually going to do it. That’s the kind of confidence Vaibhav has at just 15 years of age,” Sangakkara added.

Dinesh Karthik, who is Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s batting coach and mentor, recalled how the team’s ace pacers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood struggled against Sooryavanshi despite having a strong plan.

“Before our game against RR, we discussed what could be a weakness for this young batter. We felt a perfect yorker or a well-directed bouncer might work. But in Guwahati, nothing worked,” Karthik said.

“Neither Bhuvneshwar nor Hazlewood could get him out, no matter what they tried. Vaibhav is one of the toughest batters to bowl to. This IPL, he was the toughest, in my opinion.” “The margin for error was very small. He stands with a wide base and strong legs. Anything on the offside, he just throws his hands at it. In the powerplay, with only two fielders outside, it is very hard to stop him.” Karthik added, “Outside the powerplay, he is smart enough to stick to his strengths. He is not a one-dimensional player. He can take singles and rotate strike, and if you bowl in his zone, he puts you away.”