Vaibhav Suryavanshi ‘a little liability in the field’? Former India batsman flags off RR. cricket news
Vaibhav Suryavanshi has emerged as one of the brightest young stars of IPL 2026, scoring an impressive 440 runs in just 11 innings at the age of 15. While his fearless batting has grabbed attention throughout the tournament, the former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar He believes there is a growing concern about how youth are being used by franchises.Suryavanshi has been used largely as an impact player, coming in primarily as a batsman and rarely taking the field. While Manjrekar feels this could hinder the overall development of the youth as a cricketer, he stressed that fielding is an equally important part of the game.“I am increasingly feeling that the impact player rule should also be reconsidered for this reason. Is this all we want to see from Vaibhav Suryavanshi, just one side of his game? A cricketer is someone who bats well and fields well as well,” Manjrekar said on the Sportstar Insight Edge podcast.
He pointed out that previous generations of players were judged on all aspects of their game, not just their batting ability. He said, “We respected players like Inzamam-ul-Haq for his batting, but we also looked at his fielding and other aspects of his game. This helped people to assess a player properly. Right now, someone can come in, face a few balls, show his hitting ability and then disappear without showing the other side of his cricket.”Manjrekar further argued that young players should also experience pressure situations on the field, including dealing with mistakes and learning from them.“We’re not expecting to see all 3 dimensions of a player. But the more I think about it, it all makes sense, and you’re right, Suryavanshi, you want to see him on the field and see what happens and also be under pressure. If he’s a great batsman but has a bit of a liability in the field, I’d like to see him exploited. This is also something that we have experienced as fielders when we drop a catch in times of tension, which is frustrating to bat and cool down. You don’t want one of the highest levels of the game to be that easy,” he said.The former Indian batsman also said that international cricket needs well-rounded cricketers rather than specialists who contribute in just one area. According to him, the Royals may be inadvertently limiting Suryavanshi’s development by using him only as an impact player.“Definitely (is playing him as an influencer hindering his development as a fielder). And that’s an issue that will remain. India won the T20 World Cup despite the influencer player rule, despite a player like Shivam Dubey not bowling at all, but still did well in the T20 World Cup. So things are happening. But I believe a cricketer, not just anyone, will just come and tuck, tuck, tuck, then a Will take a break and enjoy life. I just wanted to test every player a little more, not just if he is a good bowler, bowls his 4 overs, I would like to see him in the field as well,” Manjrekar concluded.
