How Rajasthan Royals Transformed Bihar’s Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Into A World-Class Destroyer?

When Vaibhav Sooryavanshi turned up for the Rajasthan Royals trials back in the day, he neither had the pronounced back-lift nor the super-sonic bat speed that now gives the entire bowlers’ industry chronic nightmares.

Yet, with a gifted cricket brain and remarkable clarity, Sooryavanshi often reminds Zubin Bharucha of a young Sachin Tendulkar, who displayed similar qualities at 15.

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Bharucha, regarded as one of the finest modern-day batting mentors in the country and someone who has worked closely with Sooryavanshi, offered a ringside view of the science behind his batting and the elements that make him special.

“One of Vaibhav’s rare qualities is his ability to grow alongside the game. What

people see today is not what existed when he was eight years old. This exaggerated backlift, for example, evolved progressively as the quality and pace of bowling improved around him,” Bharucha told PTI.

Bharucha, who was then associated with the Royals, also spoke about how the coaches focused on his bat speed before the start of the 2025 Indian Premier League.

“Interestingly, at the trial he attended, he did not even possess the fastest bat speed amongst the group. This was identified and worked on diligently for a period of three months, where we were able to improve it by another thirty per cent,” the former Mumbai batter recalled.

So what exactly sets Sooryavanshi apart from other gifted young batters coming through the ranks?

“That ability to delay commitment, to almost suspend time for a fraction longer, is one of the defining traits of elite batting,” Bharucha replied.

Those who have watched Sooryavanshi know that his footwork is minimal; he largely stands and delivers, relying on exceptional bat speed and a high back-lift. However, there is a subtle trigger movement of the backfoot that allows him to use the depth of the crease.

“A lot of that comes from his loading onto the backfoot and his back-lift. The back-lift is not merely a stylistic feature; it acts almost like a self-propagating depth-perception mechanism. As the ball travels, the body, hands, and eyes work together to create spatial awareness.

“Great batters do not just react to the ball, they seem to receive extra information from it. That is incredibly difficult to teach because it sits at the intersection of vision, timing, balance, and instinct,” said Bharucha.

Another noticeable aspect of Sooryavanshi’s batting has been the expansion of his scoring options. In 2025, his scoring areas were heavily weighted towards the on-side, but over the past year he has developed a range of shots on the off-side as well.

“At the highest level, batting development is as much about adding range as it is about removing weaknesses and increasing clarity under pressure.

“What is interesting is that his practice routines between IPL seasons have not dramatically changed. He has been hitting roughly the same volume of balls for the last couple of years. With elite sport, people often search for some secret technical breakthrough, but more often than not the biggest shift is belief,” Bharucha said, drawing from his decades of coaching young talent coming through the system.

So what distinguishes the Sooryavanshi of 2025 from the Sooryavanshi of 2026?

“The difference now is that his confidence has multiplied,” Bharucha answered.

“Earlier, he knew he could dominate U19 bowlers. Now he believes the same methods, the same tempo, and the same instincts can work against international bowlers as well. That internal shift is enormous. Talent gives players a ceiling, but belief is often what allows them to actually reach it.”

(With PTI Inputs)