Bengaluru, Apr 30 (PTI) Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has dazed the cricketing world with his batting blitz, and noted commentator Ian Bishop reckoned strong mental and technical faculties have helped the teen sensation to dominate top-class bowlers in the IPL.
Sooryavanshi has poleaxed some top-of-the-draw bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult, Josh Hazlewood etc in the ongoing edition of the IPL.
“I think his psychological makeup is efficient, enough to take on the best bowlers in the world. He took on Jasprit Bumrah. Technically, he’s kind of unique with his bat swing, more like a baseball sort of swing,” Bishop, an ESPNcricinfo expert, told the media.
Bishop said there is no tangible weakness in Sooryavanshi’s batting, forcing seasoned bowlers to frantically look for alternate plans against the 15-year-old.
“It’s very hard to see exactly what his weakness is because the back of a length delivery has worked against him, for example, in the under-19 World Cup and against Sunrisers Hyderabad. But then if you don’t get that back-of-a-length delivery where he pulls and top edges early, those same deliveries disappear out of the park.
“So, I think, technically, he’s set up very well. He has a number of world-class bowlers in this tournament going through plan A, plan B, plan C, plan E, F, and G. And that’s a good sign that he has all these veterans of the game, having to go through a whole host of plans as they try to go yorker, yorker, at him in the previous game. So I think he’s set up well,” he added.
On that note, the former West Indian fast bowler hoped that the pitches will continue to give equal opportunities to batters and bowlers, adding more variety into the tournament.
“I like the mix of pitches that a tournament can produce. I want to see some of those good batting surfaces where the batsmen hold sway. But I also want to see the surface like Delhi produced, the surface that LSG produces, that offers fast bowlers something.
“The Mumbai vs CSK game where the ball ripped at the back end and (spinners) Akeal Hossain and Noor Ahmad came into the game big time. So, you don’t want the pitches to be homogenous. So, you want a nice mix as you go through the tournament,” he said.
Irrespective of the venue, five-time champions Mumbai Indians have struggled to make an impact in IPL 2026, languishing at ninth place with just four points.
Bishop said MI bowlers will have to pull up their socks for the team to make a turnaround.
“If I had to identify one area, I would think it is from a bowling perspective because when I go through the numbers, Mumbai are at the bottom of the ladder of all the teams stacked by order of success from a bowling perspective.
“And that, to me, is problematic because I know we’re having a paradigm shift in the way T20 cricket and the IPL is played. I think Mumbai are still capable of getting runs. But I feel that their bowling needs to live up to its potential and ability to win games.
“A big part of that has been, let’s say, Trent Boult, maybe not in his best form, not getting the ball to swing as much. Certainly Jasprit Bumrah, not in his best form for whatever reason. So, bowling is the thing that I think needs a step up most,” he noted.
So, should some of the key MI players like Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma, who have been struggling to produce consistent performances in IPL 2026, be allowed to take a short break to return to their best? MI will next face arch-rival CSK at Chennai, a fascinating contest as Revenge Week looms in the IPL.
“What they put out to win that T20 World Cup at home must have been exhausting. Ideally, I would like to have seen some of those guys and particularly, let’s say who was excellent right across that World Cup and a big part of why India won, being given a break to refresh, to find, to sit back, analyse, rest yourself, come back mentally strong.
“But also to fine-tune whatever skills or planning that would take you to another level. But that’s not the case because they’re contracted to the franchises. The franchise is a separate thing from the international team. So my thing would be, ideally, I would like to have seen those guys get a few days’ break to really enjoy the success they brought to the country and to refresh themselves,” said Bishop. PTI UNG AM AM
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