Jaipur, March 19 Rajasthan Royals captain Riyan Parag said on Thursday that Indian batting prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi should be allowed to enjoy his game without any additional pressure, both on and off the field.
Parag indicated that Sooryavanshi will be paired with India opener Yashasvi Jaiswal in the IPL, which begins on March 28, and said the 14-year-old should be given the space and time to continue developing his game without any external pressure.
"As a captain, my message to him would be to avoid doing a lot of press conferences or following the media closely," Parag told reporters here during a pre-season press conference.
"Let him just enjoy, and I would also request you (media) to do the same. Do not approach his manager or anyone; just let him be. He is a 15-16 (14)-year-old, let him play cricket. He is playing really well, and he will make the country proud."
Parag said that Sooryavanshi will be given the freedom to play aggressively from the start, and his senior partner Jaiswal is well-equipped to handle the pressure.
"Of course, he will face some pressure, but I will tell him that Jaiswal will handle whatever pressure comes his way, as he is good enough for that role," Parag said.
"My only message for Vaibhav is to go out and play. If the first ball is meant to be hit, hit it. There is no problem with that."
"I don't think any young player has done what he has done over the last year. He is scoring runs everywhere," Parag added.
Meanwhile, head coach Kumar Sangakkara said he is not too concerned with the Royals not having any member of the Indian team that won the T20 World Cup earlier this month.
"It is what it is. India played amazingly well in the World Cup. I am more interested in the players that we have, rather than the players we don't have. For me, looking at my squad, there are certainly enough good Indian players who probably played in both World Cup sides," he said.
Sangakkara said that RR have tried to find more flexibility in the team from the previous edition.
"We had to strengthen our team in terms of batting depth, in terms of local spin, in terms of our all-rounders, and in terms of more options in the bowling department, so that we can also reconfigure the batting lineup," he said.
In a pre-season trade, Rajasthan Royals saw their regular captain Sanju Samson leaving after an 11-year stint with the team for Chennai Super Kings, and Ravindra Jadeja joining the team.
"With the trades that we have done, and with some of the auction buys, we have been able to address the local spin department, so that we can then start looking at different options in terms of overseas batsmen and bowlers, and that gives us a little more flexibility," Sangakkara said.