Laxman backs Sooryavanshi, but says fitness is next step after Zimbabwe heroics

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi finished the Zimbabwe T20I series with a flourish, but stand-in India head coach VVS Laxman says the 15-year-old still has one clear area to improve: his overall fitness.

Sooryavanshi scored 81 off 49 balls in the third and final T20I in Harare, helping India seal a 35-run win and complete a 3-0 sweep. Across the three matches, he made 151 runs and finished as the leading run-scorer, which also brought him his first Player of the Series award.

Laxman was full of praise for the youngster, but made it plain that fitness will matter for what comes next. “The one area we want him to improve is his overall fitness,” Laxman said.

Laxman Praises Sooryavanshi's On-Field Attitude and Resilience

He also pointed to Sooryavanshi’s attitude in the field during the final match. The teenager was injured while attempting a diving catch running in from deep square leg, yet wanted to stay on the field. “He's a very young boy. He himself wants to get better in every aspect of the game.

Even today, when he got injured (while attempting a diving catch running in from deep square leg), he still wanted to stay on the field. It was our physio who asked him to come off. That's the eagerness and earnestness he has to contribute in every possible way to the team,” Laxman said.

The Zimbabwe tour also saw Sooryavanshi put behind the disappointment of the England tour, according to Source B. It was his first Player of the Series win, and Laxman said he was not surprised by the way the youngster handled international cricket.

He also said that even last year, when Sooryavanshi played for the Rajasthan Royals for the first time, the way he handled pressure was impressive.

Laxman added that he had closely tracked Sooryavanshi’s progress over the past year in his role as the BCCI’s Head of Cricket. Sooryavanshi also finished as the highest run-scorer at the ICC Men's Under-19 Cricket World Cup earlier this year with 439 runs and was named Player of the Tournament.

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