Former Indian batsman Robin Uthappa has drawn comparisons between teenage batting sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Australian legend Sir Don Bradman, which has caught everyone’s attention following the Men in Blue’s tour of Zimbabwe.
Uthappa said that it is too early to say how big a player Vaibhav Suryavanshi will become, but he believes that this young player has a quality of batting which reminds him of Bradman. Meanwhile, Vaibhav Suryavanshi opens up on Dream Zimbabwe tour, supporting VVS Laxman and Ishan Kishan’s role.
His comments came after the left-handed batsman made a spectacular comeback in the recent three-match T20 series and was named Player of the Series in Zimbabwe after his disappointing debut series in England.
Robin Uthappa finds a special similarity between Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Sir Don Bradman
After India’s 3-0 T20 series win against Zimbabwe, Robin Uthappa pointed out that during Sir Don Bradman’s playing days, bowlers had to bowl body-line as the normal bowling plans were not enough to stop them from scoring runs.
The former Indian batsman feels that the bowlers are now trying to do something similar against Vaibhav Suryavanshi as they are still looking for ways to control his aggressive batting. He also said that Vaibhav had such a batting technique which made it very difficult for the bowlers to get him out leg before wicket (LBW) and Bradman also had similar strength in his batting.
“It’s hard to say right now. We haven’t really seen bowlers react to what Vaibhav is doing. People are just agreeing to the way he bats. So, we have to wait and see. Because when Bradman was batting the way he did, he resorted to the bodyline. Vaibhav has a similar technique to Bradman, where he almost never got out LBW,” Robin Uthappa said in a video on his YouTube channel.
Continuity will decide how far Vaibhav Suryavanshi will go
Uthappa believes that the biggest challenge for Vaibhav Suryavanshi will be to continue performing at the same level for a long time. He believes that if the teenager maintains his aggressive strike rate and scores a lot of runs, he can become one of the rarest players he has ever seen.
The former CSK star also wondered what Don Bradman’s record would have looked like if World War II had not interrupted his career and the Australian legend had played around 30 more Test matches. Meanwhile, India’s Test team for the Sri Lanka series was announced.
He further shared, “If Vaibhav can maintain an average in the high 40s with his strike rate, he can be considered a standout. It would also be interesting to see if World War 2 had not happened and Bradman had played 30 more Tests, would his average still have been over 99 or 100?”
Modern cricket gives more freedom to players
Uthappa has pointed out that modern-day cricketers are not forced to follow a certain batting style, as they are more confident in playing their natural game rather than copying traditional techniques.
He further added, “Outliers are also happening now more than ever. This is because people are not relying on traditional bowling or batting techniques. Any technique has become more acceptable today. More players are relying on their natural God-given ability rather than a particular way of playing.”
The former Indian batsman further said that every batsman is finding his own way to score runs and most of them have achieved success, which has made the game even more exciting.
“That’s why MS Dhoni was accepted because he did his job, just like Vaibhav is now, who is doing his job. Yet, you still enjoy Sachin Tendulkar, Shubman Gill or Virat Kohli, who also bat in their own way,” Uthappa said.
