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Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s fearless batting has created a stir in the cricket world. The teenager is thrashing quality bowlers with amazing confidence and is now being seen as the future of Indian cricket. However, the rise of glory has raised questions about the modern game.
The teenage sensation is currently on the Sri Lanka tour with the India A team, and has already received his first India call-up for the upcoming Ireland and England tours as well as the Asian Games 2026. However, Vaibhav Suryavanshi was out cheaply in India A’s first match of the one-day tri-series against Sri Lanka A.
Greg Chappell compares Vaibhav Suryavanshi with Graeme Pollock, Gary Sobers, Brian Lara and Adam Gilchrist
After Michael Clarke lauded Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s temperament, legendary Australian cricketer Greg Chappell believes the teenager’s success tells a story beyond just individual talent. He said the left-handed batsman’s ability to dominate experienced bowlers at such a young age highlights how difficult modern cricket has become for bowlers, especially in T20 cricket.
Chappell was very impressed by the batting skills of this teenager. He believes that Suryavanshi has a rare blend of traditional technique and modern attacking cricket. The former Australian captain said that the youngster looks comfortable against both pace and spin and plays his shots with more confidence than his age.
Greg Chappell, in his column for ESPN Cricinfo, wrote: “In his brilliant downswing and impeccable balance, there are clear echoes of the great Graeme Pollock and the incomparable Sir Garfield Sobers.”
“When he crosses the line or pounces on extra cover, there are glimpses of Brian Lara’s brutal, instinctive talent, combined with Adam Gilchrist’s devastating, ball-one intent. It’s a classic, pure method used with contemporary violence, proving that his talent is a rare gift for the game. However, his unprecedented success at such a young age serves as a profound warning sign.”
Greg Chappell used Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s rise to glory to highlight the game’s biggest problem
However, Chappell also admitted that seeing such dominance from a player as young as his teenage years raised concerns in his mind. He believes that cricket is moving towards a stage where batsmen get too many advantages while bowlers get too little support.
The former Indian coach pointed out that several changes over the years have shifted the balance largely towards the batsmen. Bigger and more powerful bats, shorter boundaries and batting-friendly pitches have made scoring easier than ever.
The Australian great said, “If a kid who has barely completed his physical development can step onto the global stage and humiliate elite international bowlers with ease, it exposes a systemic disease within the game.”
“Suryavanshi is the last canary in the coal mine, showing us that the modern environment has been engineered to make bowling extinct. The combination of hyper-engineered bat technology, extremely short boundary ropes and completely lifeless, flat pitches has skewed the game monstrously in favor of the batsmen.”
Greg Chappell gave serious warning on T20 cricket
Chappell believes that cricket is at its best when both batsmen and bowlers have equal opportunities to influence the game. He warned that if matches are limited to only sixes and fours, fans may eventually lose interest as the competition between bat and ball is what makes cricket exciting.
The Australian great also believes that T20 cricket is becoming too predictable and has issued a stern warning. He concluded by saying, “This unbalanced environment threatens to turn T20 cricket into a repetitive, mechanical loop of limitations that will ultimately alienate the sporting public. The entertainment value of any game fundamentally depends on danger, and when that danger is removed, the spectacle quickly loses its lustre.”