IND vs ZIM: Ishan Kishan highlights challenge of shielding Vaibhav Sooryavanshi from outside noise: ‘We just try to…’

India wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan emphasised the need for him and his teammates to continue supporting 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.

Speaking after India's emphatic 90-run victory over Zimbabwe in the second T20I in Harare, Ishan Kishan praised the teenage sensation, saying that although Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is intelligent enough to understand his own game, coping with the attention and distractions that come with early success will remain a significant challenge.

"Vaibhav is actually very smart. He knows what he is doing, how he needs to bat, how he needs to conduct himself off the field, and how to be on the field. But at the same time, I feel that because of where he comes from, there can be a lot of distractions there.

"There can be many distractions in your friend circle. And having come out from that same background, I know that, you know, when you play cricket, when you represent India, what are the things you need to focus on. I just try to ensure that," Kishan said at the post-match press conference in Harare on Saturday.

"Not only me, I think along with him, myself, Abhishek, Axar bhai, and a lot of players, whoever interacts with him in any way, we just make sure that right now, he thinks as much as possible about cricket, rather than what’s happening on social media, or what the outside noise is, or letting your body language drop if you aren't scoring runs," he added.

Vaibhav, who broke into the limelight during IPL 2025 with Rajasthan Royals (RR), made his senior India debut in the T20I series against England in England.

‘Our focus is to make him happy’: Kishan on Vaibhav

The Bihar youngster managed to score just 42 runs from three matches in that series, but made a strong return in the first T20I against Zimbabwe, scoring an 18-ball 50 that included four fours and as many sixes.

He then slammed 20 runs from nine balls in the second T20I.

"We just try to ensure he doesn't fall into those thought processes. And looking at, especially the kind of player he is, and we know that if he stays at the pitch, if a player like him stays at the crease, how much of a difference it can create for your team when a batter goes out and hits from the very first ball, and you end the first six overs of the powerplay at 80–90 runs," Kishan explained.

Vaibhav earned his maiden India call-up for the T20I series against Ireland in June, following a stellar IPL 2026 season that saw him clinch the Orange Cap with 776 runs from 16 matches. Kishan reiterated that he and his teammates only want Vaibhav to enjoy the game.

"When you have a player like that and you know he is very young, you would never want him to get distracted for the wrong reasons. So our job as teammates, especially since we are like brothers, and he comes from the same place I do, our main focus is just to keep him happy, make him focus on the important things, and ensure he doesn't repeat the mistakes we made in our early days.

"Whether that's in terms of mindset or physical fitness, however it may be, as a brother, we just want him not to repeat those mistakes and to keep enjoying his cricket, just like he is doing right now," he explained.