Langer left in awe by teen Sooryavanshi's 'breathtaking' batting

Former Australia coach Justin Langer lauded Vaibhav Sooryavanshi for his “breathtaking” batting after the 15-year-old’s latest destructive IPL innings.

Sooryavanshi struck a 38-ball 93 on Tuesday to lead Rajasthan Royals closer to the IPL play-offs with a win over Lucknow Super Giants.

The batting blitz from the opener added to a string of impressive performances in the T20 competition this season, including a 36-ball century.

Sooryavanshi hit 10 sixes as he went past Lucknow opener Mitchell Marsh’s total of 563 runs in the IPL batting chart.

The teenager is now top with 579 runs in 13 matches, earning him the right to wear the orange cap as the competition’s highest run-scorer.

“I’ve seen some amazing players in 35 years of cricket,” Langer, the former Australia opening batsman and now Lucknow coach, told reporters in Jaipur.

“To see a young man bat like that, not just tonight but throughout the series, is breathtaking.”

Sooryavanshi took apart some world-class fast bowlers including Australia’s Mitchell Starc and South Africa’s Anrich Nortje.

“It’s quite incredible, actually, to be able to play that way, and now have the orange cap,” said Langer, who played 105 Tests for Australia.

“The scary thing going forward — if the expressions on the face of Mitch Starc and Nortje and every bowler tells a story now — is what about when he learns how to bat?” Langer said.

“Gosh, he’s so young. He’s a brilliant player, and it’s a real privilege to watch him bat.

“He’ll adapt, he’ll keep getting better and better, which is scary for world cricket.”

Sooryavanshi’s performances have sparked calls for him to be fast-tracked into the senior Indian national team, but the selectors are in no rush.

“We’ve picked him for the India A team again,” chief selector Ajit Agarkar said on Tuesday.

“We are very excited with what he’s been doing in the IPL, and hopefully he shows a bit of that when he travels with India A.”