Ex-Australia international Justin Langer, coach of Lucknow Super Giants, and was, like Sooryavanshi, a left-handed opener.
“Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is only the second selfie I’ve ever asked for! The other was with an AFL champion who I used to watch when I was a little kid.
“I said ‘I’ve never done this before in the IPL, but do you mind if we have a selfie together? Because I am in awe of your talent, I’m in awe of your mindset, I’m in awe of the way you play cricket’. Watching him bat is mind-blowing.
“What makes him so special? He’s got extraordinary hands. I always say the really great players, their hands are like a hose in a swimming pool.
“He almost does a figure-eight in his hands in his backswing. You know, it’s tiny, it’s subtle, but they’re just so loose.
“A lot of left-handers, when they’re trying to hit sixes, they go from the sight screen round to the leg side, which is different with Sooryavanshi who sets up to hit it off side.
“First ball of his IPL career, he hit a six over cover. Not over long-on, not over deep mid-wicket like a lot of left-handers. He hit a six over cover and it went about 20 rows back into the stand.
“This kid not only has the game and the curiosity and hand-eye coordination, but also the hunger to score more and more runs. He is also so humble. That’s the mark of a champion player.”
