Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has emerged as one of the brightest young stars in IPL 2026, having scored an impressive 440 runs in just 11 innings at the age of 15. While his fearless batting has attracted attention throughout the tournament, the former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar I believe there are growing concerns about how teams will utilize the youngster.Suryavanshi was mainly used as an impact player, playing mainly as a batsman and rarely playing. Manjrekar feels this could hinder the youngster’s overall development as a cricketer and stressed that fielding is an equally important part of the game.“I feel more and more that the impact player rule should be reconsidered for this reason as well. Is this all we want to see from Vaibhav Sooryavanshi? Is it just one aspect of his game? A cricketer is someone who bats well and plays well on the field,” Manjrekar said on the Sportstar Insight Edge podcast.
He explained that earlier generations of players were judged on all aspects of the game, not just hitting ability. “We respect the batting ability of players like Inzamam-ul-Haq, but we also see their fielding and other aspects of the game. It helps people evaluate players properly. Now, someone can come in, face a few balls, show their batting ability and then disappear without showing another side of cricket,” he added.Manjrekar further believes that young players should also experience pressure on the field, including dealing with mistakes and learning from them.“We don’t expect to see all 3 dimensions of a player. But the more I think about it the more it all makes sense and you are right, Sooryavanshi, you want to see him out on the field and see what happens and be under pressure. If he is a good batsman but has slight responsibility on the field, I would like to see that exploited. This is what we experience as outfielders too, it will be a hit and a chilling feeling when we take the ball due to the tension that comes with it. You don’t want getting to one of the highest levels of the sport to be that easy,” he added.The former India batsman also pointed out that international cricket requires well-rounded cricketers and not specialists who contribute only in one discipline. According to him, the Royals may have inadvertently limited Sooryavanshi’s growth by using him only as an impact player.“Of course (letting him play as an impact player will stunt his growth as a fielder). That’s a problem that’s going to be there. India won the T20 World Cup despite the impact player rule, and guys like Shivam Dube did well in the T20 World Cup despite not bowling at all. So things are happening. But I believe a cricketer, not someone, will come in and bowl, bowl, bowl and then take a break and enjoy life. I just want to test each player more, not just if he is a good bowler and if he bowls four balls, I also want to see him on the field,” Manjrekar concluded.
