Praise continues to pour in for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi from some of cricket’s biggest names, with the latest endorsement coming from the legendary former West Indies captain Clive Lloydwho believes that the teenage sensation possesses the qualities necessary for a bright future at the highest level.Lloyd, one of the most revered figures in cricket history and the man who captained the West Indies to World Cup triumphs in 1975 and 1979, was recently asked how a 15-year-old Indian batsman would cope with the fearsome pace attack that dominated world cricket during his era.The 81-year-old has led a side that includes some of the most feared fast bowlers including Michael Holding, Joel Garner, Andy Roberts and Colin Croft. Thinking about a hypothetical contest between Sooryavanshi and those legendary speedsters, Lloyd felt it would be a fascinating battle.“Well, he’d have a really good test (laughs) and we’d test his character, his skills and so on. He’s got good vision. He’s a good hitter of the ball. Yeah, so that would be a good test for him and a good test for our bowlers. The point about the pitchers we had, why it was hard to decipher what they were doing, because they were all doing something different. They weren’t doing the same thing. So that would be a great test,” Lloyd said in an interview with RevSportz.Praising the young man’s talent, Lloyd also gave important advice for his development. The former West Indian great believes that Sooryavanshi’s natural approach should be preserved and not changed as he progresses through the ranks.“I think this guy’s got the ability and I’m sure if he continues to play the way he’s playing and they don’t try to change it, you know, his style of play, I think we’ve got a young man that we’re going to be watching for a long time,” he added.Lloyd’s comments come shortly after another outstanding performance from the teenager. Representing India A in the final of the tri-series against Sri Lanka A in Dambulla on Sunday, Sooryavanshi produced an incredible innings that rewrote the record books.The left-hander smashed the fastest fifty in the history of List A cricket, reaching the milestone in just 11 deliveries. He looked an equally outstanding century on the track and could match the fastest hundred in List A cricket, but his innings ended on 94 off just 29 balls. A six off the last delivery he faced would take him to the landmark.After his exploits in Sri Lanka, Sooryavanshi is scheduled to travel to Ireland for India’s upcoming two-match T20I series later this month. With an international debut widely anticipated during the tour, the teenager’s rapid rise continues to gather momentum and Lloyd’s confidence only adds to the growing excitement around one of cricket’s most talked about young talents.
