Sooryavanshi is supernatural: Pakistani commentator hits back at Indian media

After a barrage of bouncers from the Indian media following his comments on IPL teen sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Pakistani cricket commentator Nauman Niaz has responded with a Tendulkar-esque straight drive.

Bewildered by the 15-year-old Indian batting prodigy’s freakish exploits in the Indian Premier League, Niaz made a lighthearted comment during a recent podcast that Sooryavanshi “needs to be checked in a lab if he has got some AI chip in him”.

Niaz, a doctor by profession who follows cricket with a passion, went on to shower high praise on Sooryavanshi during the same podcast.

“What a player, he is unreal,” Niaz said, before dissecting every aspect of the youngster’s game.

“I have analysed this because your body’s shape fully develops when you are 18. And this boy is just 16 (15) now. When he was born, Virat Kohli was already a world champion (2011),” he said, adding context.

“So why is this boy so special? He doesn’t have great strength, but his technique is so good, his wrist position is excellent, and so is the batting arc, with a full 360-degree swing of the bat.”

From a technical standpoint, it was nothing but very high praise from a Pakistani expert for one of the biggest talents to have emerged from India in recent years.

The AI chip reference added a touch of humour—clearly born out of amazement at an outrageously talented player.

But the Indian media not only failed to see the humour, it also ignored the genuine praise while criticising him for the podcast.

Currently holidaying in the UK, the veteran cricket broadcaster was at a loss for words when asked how he found himself in the eye of a storm.

“It has been given a negative spin, which is completely unwarranted,” Niaz told Khaleej Times over the phone from London.

“It is rather flabbergasting because I have followed (Vaibhav) from the Under-19s and now in the Indian Premier League. I personally feel that he is exceptional, and his exponential rise is because of the miraculous talent he has.”

Hailing Sooryavanshi as a ‘boy wonder’, Niaz said the Rajasthan Royals opener’s free-flowing stroke play could even become a case study for health professionals.

“Being a clinician, I can easily tell you that you are not fully developed at 15. He is just a teenager—his muscles, biceps and triceps still need to develop, and his shoulders need to take shape. But then, how is he hitting sixes so disdainfully? That’s because he has a very strong base,” he said.

“In fact, I was one of the first to put out a thread on X about him, focusing on his batting components, since I hold a Master’s in biomechanics and kinesiology. I feel he has tremendous hand-eye coordination. His head gaze angle is amazing; when he is facing, he remains still in his stance. And the best part is that he completes the arc of the bat and, whenever he gets an opportunity, he just hits the ball. He hardly respects the bowlers when he smashes them—that’s the best part of his cricket.”

Niaz reiterated that the Indian media had taken his AI comment completely out of context.

“The comment that I made was out of amazement, because he is almost supernatural in the way he bats,” Niaz said.

“As a cricket fan, it’s like living a dream to see a 16-year-old playing against the big boys, so I made the reference that maybe he is AI. That’s how I was praising him, because he is so far ahead of his contemporaries.

“So I am just disappointed with the way the Indian media has put a completely wrong connotation on it. I’m the last person who believes in conspiracy theories, yet they wrote that I gave over-the-top, exaggerated comments. That’s quite ridiculous. I always base my points on evidence.”