{"id":180364,"date":"2026-06-14T06:15:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-14T11:45:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/?p=180364"},"modified":"2026-06-14T06:15:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-14T11:45:12","slug":"sri-lankan-u-19-bowlers-relish-opportunity-to-bowl-to-indias-vaibhav-sooryavanshi-in-dambulla","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/?p=180364","title":{"rendered":"Sri Lankan U-19 bowlers relish opportunity to bowl to India’s Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in Dambulla"},"content":{"rendered":"


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A group of young bowlers walked off the Rangiri International Stadium outfield a little taller on Sunday afternoon. Drafted in to bowl to the India A batters during a training session, the Under-19 hopefuls relished every moment, but there was one wicket they were particularly eager to chase \u2014 Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.<\/p>\n

Like many teenagers across the cricketing world, they have followed Sooryavanshi\u2019s rapid rise with fascination. The chance to test themselves against him in the nets was enough to add an extra spring to their step. Every ball sent his way carried a touch more effort and intent.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is a smart cricketer,\u201d Nithnal, one of the net bowlers, told\u00a0 Sportstar<\/i>, the grin on his face revealing how much the experience meant.<\/p>\n

For the youngsters, it was only a net session. But it was also a glimpse of the level they dream of reaching one day.<\/p>\n

Among them was 15-year-old Udarsha \u2014 the same age as Sooryavanshi \u2014 who idolises Sachin Tendulkar. Though Tendulkar retired when he was barely two, stories from his coach ensured the Indian great occupied a special place in his imagination. Bowling to Indian players had long been on his bucket list. On Sunday, that wish finally came true.<\/p>\n

Operating in tandem, he bowled to both Sooryavanshi and Tilak Varma and took particular delight in troubling them on a few occasions. \u201cWe gave the ball more air and flight. The more you flight it, the more revs you get, and it was nice to beat them a couple of times,\u201d Udarsha said with a smile, drawing laughs from his teammates.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe may be our age, but he is an extremely sharp cricketer. You can make that out from the way he approaches the game,\u201d Nithnal said of Sooryavanshi.<\/p>\n

As Nithnal spoke about Sooryavanshi\u2019s batting, one of his teammates drifted into a different line of enquiry altogether. Curious about the teenager\u2019s meteoric rise, he wanted to know how much the young Indian star earned.<\/p>\n

When told about Sooryavanshi\u2019s IPL contract and growing list of endorsements, the bowler\u2019s eyes widened in disbelief. \u201cSo much money!\u201d he exclaimed, before quickly reaching for a calculator of his own. \u201cHow much would that be in Sri Lankan currency?\u201d<\/p>\n

The answer drew an even bigger reaction from the group, followed by a chorus of whistles and laughter.<\/p>\n

For a few moments, cricket took a back seat as the youngsters tried to wrap their heads around the scale of the numbers being discussed. To them, Sooryavanshi was not just a gifted batter of their age, but also a teenager living a life that felt worlds apart from their own.<\/p>\n

ALSO READ: Women\u2019s T20 World Cup 2026: Birmingham awaits another India vs Pakistan tussle<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

Yet, after the initial amazement subsided, the conversation returned to what had impressed them most \u2014 not the money, but the maturity and sharpness with which he went about his cricket. Most of the boys come from Dambulla and its neighbouring towns, carrying dreams of one day wearing Sri Lanka colours.<\/p>\n

Before chasing those ambitions, however, they were happy to savour a memorable afternoon spent bowling to some of Indian cricket\u2019s brightest stars.<\/p>\n

And once training ended, the youngsters gathered in a corner of the ground, phones in hand, waiting patiently for selfies. The Indian players happily posed for pictures, while members of the support staff encouraged the youngsters for being \u2018wonderful\u2019 net bowlers.<\/p>\n

For the boys from Dambulla, it was the perfect ending to a day they are unlikely to forget anytime soon.<\/p>\n

Published on Jun 14, 2026<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A group of young bowlers walked off the Rangiri International Stadium outfield a little taller on Sunday afternoon. Drafted in to bowl to the India A batters during a training session, the Under-19 hopefuls relished every moment, but there was one wicket they were particularly eager to chase \u2014 Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. Like many teenagers across … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":180365,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-180364","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/IMG_20260614_134640.jpg","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":179535,"url":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/?p=179535","url_meta":{"origin":180364,"position":0},"title":"Sooryavanshi falls six short of maiden India A half-century against Afghanistan A","author":"Ajay Kumar Verma","date":"June 11, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Vaibhav Sooryavanshi fell six runs short of his maiden India A half-century against Afghanistan in the second match of the Tri-Nation Series in Dambulla on Thursday. The 15-year-old took the attack to the Afghanistan bowlers from the outset, striking nine fours in a whirlwind 22-ball innings and putting India A\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sports"","block_context":{"text":"Sports","link":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/?cat=9"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newslink360.space\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1781238551_GettyImages-2259340822.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newslink360.space\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1781238551_GettyImages-2259340822.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newslink360.space\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1781238551_GettyImages-2259340822.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newslink360.space\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1781238551_GettyImages-2259340822.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newslink360.space\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1781238551_GettyImages-2259340822.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":173501,"url":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/?p=173501","url_meta":{"origin":180364,"position":1},"title":"VIDEO | Sooryavanshi watches the ball, not the bowler: RR\u2019s Jurel after IPL Eliminator win","author":"Ajay Kumar Verma","date":"May 28, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"It is normal for a teenager to play the bowler and not the ball but Vaibhav Sooryanshi doesn\u2019t care about who he is facing, his Rajasthan Royals teammate Dhruv Jurel pointed out. 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