Rajasthan keen to shield teenager Sooryavanshi from the media glare

NEW DELHI: Rajasthan Royals will thrust Vaibhav Sooryavanshi into the spotlight when he opens the batting with Yashasvi Jaiswal this season but captain Riyan ​Parag is keen to shield the teenage prodigy from the media ‌glare as much as possible.

Rajasthan begin their new Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign against five-time champions Chennai in Guwahati on March 30 and all eyes will be on Sooryavanshi, who turns ​15 next week, following his sensational IPL debut last season.

Replacing an ​injured Sanju Samson in the second half of the tournament, Sooryavanshi ⁠hit the first IPL ball he faced for a six against Lucknow Super ​Giants, and smashed a 35-ball hundred against Gujarat Titans in another match.

Sooryavanshi was ​also the architect of India’s victory at the under-19 World Cup in Zimbabwe and Namibia earlier this year. The left-hander smashed 175 off 80 balls in the final against England ​and ended the tournament with a record 30 sixes.

With last season’s skipper Samson ​moving to Chennai Super Kings, Sooryavanshi will remain the opening partner of India batter Jaiswal, ‌who ⁠would absorb the pressure at the top of the order, Parag said.

“This year, there will be hype and pressure naturally, but as a captain, I will tell him (Sooryavanshi) to let Yashasvi Jaiswal take the pressure,” Parag told reporters on Thursday.

“Jaiswal ​is more than ​capable of handling ⁠that. For Vaibhav, the role will be just to go, hit, and not to worry.”

Sooryavanshi, who scored at a 206-plus ​strike rate last season, has recently said he was ​targeting Chris ⁠Gayle’s 175 not out for Royal Challengers Bengaluru, which remains the IPL’s highest individual score.

Parag said he would try to keep Sooryavanshi away from media assignments and let ⁠him ​focus on playing his natural game.

“As a captain, ​I will tell him not to do many press conferences, not interact with the media much, ​just enjoy,” Parag said.