Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has gained immense spotlight in IPL 2026 due to his consistent performances and aggressive hitting. The 15-year old young batter has currently accumulated 440 runs in 11 matches and remains a key member in Rajasthan Royals squad.
RR using Sooryavanshi as impact player
But there have been questions raised on how Rajasthan Royals is utilising the youngster. Sooryavanshi has featured mainly as an impact player which means he only comes to bat and then sits in the dugout. Despite RR assistant coach Trevor Penny earlier highlighting that Sooryavanshi was also eager to contribute in the field.
Ex-India cricketer raises concern
Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has now shared his opinion about this approach and expressed his concerns. According to him, the fielding has become a highly specialised skill in modern cricket and it is as important as batting and bowling.
Manjrekar wants Sooryavanshi to be there in field
"I'm increasingly thinking that we have to do away with impact sub for this reason as well. Is that what you want to see about Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, just the one side of him? Yeah. Isn't a cricketer somebody who bats well and fields well as well? Earlier, we used to respect, and in Inzamam-ul-Haq for his batting, but you saw the other side of his as well, as a field or whatever. And that helped you sort of gauge and rate that player. Just using somebody's hitting abilities to get him to play 6 balls, that's it, and you don't see the other side," Manjrekar said on the Sporstar's Insight Edge Podcast.
Importance of being a strong fielder
"We are not expecting to see all 3 dimensions of a player. But the more I think of it, it all makes sense, and you're right, Sooryavanshi, you want to see him be on the field and see what happens and be put under pressure as well. If he is a great batter, but a slight liability in the field, I'd like to see that exploited. That is also something we have experienced as fielders when we drop a catch at the tension that comes with it, which is going to be batting and chilling. You don't want one of the highest sort of levels of the sport to be that easy," he added.
"Growth getting hampered"
"Absolutely (Is having him play as an impact player hampering his growth as a fielder). And that is an issue that's going to be there. India won the T20 World Cup despite the impact player rule being there, despite a guy like Shivam Dube not bowling at all, but still doing well in the T20 World Cup. So things are happening. But I believe that a cricketer, not somebody, will just come in and tuck, tuck, tuck, then take a break and enjoy life. I just wanted to become a little more testing for every player, not just if he is a good bowler, bowls his 4 overs, I'd like to see him in the field as well," said Manjrekar.