Sangakkara backs Sooryavanshi to get India call-up 'very very soon'

Despite another heroic Sooryavanshi knock, the Royals hurtled to a seven-wicket defeat against Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 2, with the 15-year-old exiting the tournament with the Orange Cap. Sangakkara, reflecting on the season in the press conference, said that RR was "very, very proud" of Sooryavanshi's season, and want to ensure "he keeps going, keeps that intent, keeps that no-fear attitude and keeps growing".

Sooryavanshi's 96 was a contrasting knock to the one against SRH in the Eliminator two days ago, against a barrage of short-pitched deliveries and on a used pitch that looked sluggish in the first half. Sangakkara called it a much tougher innings with wickets falling, but said that the youngster reads situations really well, adding to the ever-growing praise around the 15-year-old's maturity.

When asked if he was ready for an India call-up, Sangakkara said Sooryavanshi has it in him to achieve higher honours soon. "You never know if anyone's ready until they played," he said, "and with everything Vaibhav has shown against some of the best bowlers in the world, I think he's more than ready to take on any challenge that you throw at him and I'm sure that he'll get that call-up very, very soon".

Asked about how the team handles him through the season and intends to keep a tab on him between seasons, Sangakkara said: "I think we've got a good plan around him. We don't clutter his mind too much, he comes to all our team meetings, he contributes, he listens and he does a lot of homework. He practises well and he reads ball as well, he watches videos and prepares himself really well. So, we don't want to put any unnecessary thoughts into his head, I think a clear mind, batting with that courage is exactly what we want to see of him".

"We'll sit down with our medical team and then go through what he might need and then support him, we'll run our camps, he'll have enough practice opportunities in Nagpur with us. So, we'll be keeping a very close eye, not just on Vaibhav but all our players".

After the game, captain Riyan Parag said the team "was not supposed to qualify", but went through to the top four despite a transitionary period and young faces. Sangakkara said he was proud of how the team navigated through periods of ups and downs during the campaign.

"What I am really proud of is that all these cricketers have given the best for each other, the best for the team and franchise. I can't ask for anything more. Sometimes in cricket, you play well and still get beaten. And today was a night GT were better than us. There's no place else, or no other dressing room, I'd rather be than RR".

"No, RR is not, probably was (built around youngsters). In 2022, we made a conscious decision that we're going to change that. And we're going to get as many players that can win matches for us and play now. And are ready to play now. And that's how we've done everything. I mean Vaibhav is an outlier. But we bought him because we thought he was absolutely good enough to play in our first XI.

"The development angle: we've changed our mindset completely away from that for the last four years. We didn't probably have the best auction two years ago, in terms of utilisation of purse. But that's the way it goes sometimes. But I think everyone who played now: yes, there is a bit of inexperience at times.

"And we'll just come back better. I think no one really probably gave us a chance to qualify when we started the campaign. But it just goes to show that when you work hard, you play some good cricket, enjoy playing it, you can make special things happen".

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