Kumar Sangakkara weighs in on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's India call-up

Rajasthan Royals (RR) head coach and director of cricket, Kumar Sangakkara, feels that Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's India call-up is just around the corner. Sangakkara heaped praise on the 15-year-old for shouldering plenty of responsibility as an opener and batting with significant maturity this IPL season.

"With everything Vaibhav's 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," Sangakkara said after Rajasthan Royals' defeat to Gujarat Titans (GT) in Qualifier 2. "I'm sure that he'll get that call-up very, very soon. He's batted with a lot of maturity, he has shouldered the responsibility of that opening partnership so well for us this season."

Sooryavanshi's IPL season came to a halt after RR's seven-wicket loss at the hands of Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 2 at the Maharaj Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur, New Chandigarh, on May 29.

The southpaw finished the season as the leading run-getter with 776 runs across 16 innings, averaging nearly 50 (48.50). His strike rate of 237.30 is the best among anyone with more than 50 runs in the season. What stood out about his stint was that 88.14% (684) of his total runs came entirely in boundaries. He hit a total of 63 fours and 72 sixes in the 19th edition of the Indian Premier League.

Sooryavanshi has already earned his maiden India A call-up. He is a part of the India A squad, which will take on Sri Lanka and Afghanistan A in a one-day tri-series to be played in Sri Lanka starting June 9.

Tilak Varma has been named captain of the side, whereas Sooryavanshi's captain at RR, Riyan Parag, has been announced as vice-captain. Tilak, Riyan and Anshul Kamboj are the only three players in the squad with international experience.