Greg Chappell, the former Australian cricketer and ex-head coach of the Indian cricket team, has weighed in on the remarkable rise of young sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi, urging the BCCI to build a strong support system around him to ensure his talent matures into a lasting legacy. Drawing a comparison to cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar, Chappell emphasized that talent alone does not guarantee success at the highest level.
Vaibhav stunned the cricketing fraternity earlier this week with a blistering 35-ball century against the Gujarat Titans, an innings that instantly catapulted him into the spotlight. His performance caught the attention of Chappell, who addressed the young prodigy’s future in his column for ESPNCricinfo.
“Sachin Tendulkar succeeded as a teenager not simply due to talent but because of a solid support system – a stoic temperament, a wise coach, a family that protected him from the circus,” Chappell wrote, highlighting the importance of grounding even the most gifted players in a nurturing environment.
To further his point, Chappell invoked the examples of Vinod Kambli and Prithvi Shaw, two prodigies who showed immense early promise but struggled to sustain their careers at the top. “On the other hand, Vinod Kambli, equally talented and perhaps more flamboyant, struggled to balance fame and discipline. His fall was as dramatic as his rise. Prithvi Shaw is another wunderkind who has fallen but may yet find a way back to the pinnacle,” he added.
By drawing these stark contrasts, Chappell issued a clear warning to Indian cricket’s governing body: without proper guidance, even the brightest stars can fade too soon. As Vaibhav Suryavanshi basks in the glory of his record-breaking knock, the responsibility now lies with those around him to ensure his journey mirrors Tendulkar’s, not Kambli’s.
