Johannesburg [South Africa], April 9 (ANI): Former South African captain and SA20 Commissioner Graeme Smith has lauded the Indian Premier League's (IPL) influence on global cricket, emphasising how the tournament's professional franchises, high standards, and talent scouting have helped discover prodigies like Rajasthan Royals' teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.

Smith, a member of the inaugural Rajasthan Royals squad in 2008, noted that the IPL has been instrumental in shaping competitive T20 ecosystems worldwide, including South Africa's SA20 league, and praised Sooryavanshi for making an immediate mark in the tournament.

Not since the legendary Sachin Tendulkar has Indian cricket served up a teenager who has had the entire cricket world in awe. According to a release, there have been many young prodigies in between, but Vaibhav Sooryavanshi stands tall above all of them. At 15 years old and 12 days, Sooryavanshi is an extraordinary generational talent.

Equally, he is the perfect prototype for the modern game, smashing sixes almost at will up the order in T20 cricket.

Sooryavanshi faced an acid test of his potential on Tuesday evening. Rajasthan Royals were facing Mumbai Indians in a mega IPL 2026 clash in Guwahati.

The teenager, who had hit 68 sixes in 378 balls in T20 cricket coming into the game, was set to face the world's best bowler, Jasprit Bumrah.

Sooryavanshi had never encountered Bumrah before. Would he be able to cope with the pressure? Was Bumrah going to deliver one of his famed slower balls or yorkers that have deceived batters with far greater experience and pedigree?

The outcome: A 131.2kph leg-stump half-volley.

Sooryavanshi could not have asked for anything tastier as he eats a chunk out of the delivery by depositing the ball for six up into the stands. The youngster has passed his test. He has now hit even the best bowler in the world for a maximum.

It is this audacious talent that SA20 Commissioner Graeme Smith has been keeping a close eye on during the opening weeks of the IPL.

'The IPL has started exactly how I expected it to, with flatter pitches and high-scoring games,' Smith said on his blog.

'As always, it's interesting to see how the old school superstars like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli perform, but I think this youngster for the Rajasthan Royals, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, is the one to watch in the opening few weeks.

'He has already shown his ability to power it right from ball one. As a young man, he could become a proper superstar over the course of the tournament, and I'm really excited to see how he goes.'

Smith, who was part of the first-ever Rajasthan Royals squad to win the inaugural IPL back in 2008, believes the most popular T20 tournament in the world has revolutionised the global cricket landscape.

He believes the success of the IPL has had a knock-on effect through SA20, which has revitalised cricket in South Africa and allowed for untapped talent to come to the fore.

'Our six franchises are a huge, integral part of the growth of SA20. We were very fortunate to attract six IPL teams of high quality, and they're the most experienced franchise owners in the world,' Smith said.

'They are very competitive, they want to win, and they bring in a level of cricket and business excellence across the board, from coaching to medical care. The IPL franchises have brilliant scouts - the talent they find doesn't always come through the system.

'When you're trying to rebuild and grow a cricket ecosystem, to have partners like that is amazing. It's kind of impossible to compete with the IPL, but we've been fortunate that they've been very open with us, and helped us build the big blocks in the early phases.'

'We all love Test cricket, but T20 is the growth format. It's bringing private ownership into the game, and we're seeing the huge valuations now. People around the globe are taking cricket seriously; it's got a huge number of eyeballs, and it's growing in all the key markets.'

'The interesting thing to see now, where it can go, is over the next four to five years, with private ownership in the game and the 2028 Olympics coming up.' (ANI)