Stacy Boit,

Few have had a better view of the development of cricket’s 15-year-old sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi than former England all-rounder Mike Yardy.

Yardy was in the opposing dugout when Sooryavanshi, then aged 12, played for India against England in an under-19 series.

He was coach once more when the precocious left-hander toured England last summer – Sooryavanshi scored 143 in the fourth 50-over match in Worcester – and again when the teenager hammered an incredible 175 from 80 balls against England in the Under-19 World Cup final in February.

So, has he spotted a weakness?

“Not really, no,” Yardy tells BBC Sport.

Yardy’s tongue is slightly in his cheek – but that is a question now facing the world game.

A batter not old enough to leave school in many corners of the globe, who used to travel three hours to the nearest major city for coaching at the age of eight, is currently taking down the very best bowlers around.

“The talent he has got, I don’t know what to predict because I have never seen anything quite like it,” Yardy says.

Any suggestion the 12 months of white-ball success leading to the Under-19 World Cup final knock were some sort of fluke for Sooryavanshi has been banished at this year’s Indian Premier League.

Rajasthan Royals’ opener followed his 35-ball century as a 14-year-old in last year’s tournament – one which made him the youngest centurion in men’s T20s – with a 36-ball century against Pat Cummins’ Sunrisers Hyderabad two weeks ago.

The speed of those two tons has only been beaten by West Indies’ T20 legend Chris Gayle in the IPL.

Like Gayle, Sooryavanshi’s innings are built on brutal boundary hitting, though he gets there in a different way.

With a high yet unusual and whippy bat swing, his hands move away from his body as the bowler releases. He generates his power as the bat swishes back through the line to make contact.

It led former England captain Michael Vaughan to muse this week whether Sooryavanshi could become the “greatest striker of a cricket ball of all time”.

“His bat swing is quite unique,” says former India international Deep Dasgupta, another who has had a front row seat for the teenager’s rise, through his commentary at the IPL.

“It is not a taught bat swing. Batters go straight up and straight down – a linear path. This is more circular and wristy.”

Any suggestion the 12 months of white-ball success leading to the Under-19 World Cup final knock were some sort of fluke for Sooryavanshi has been banished at this year’s Indian Premier League.

Rajasthan Royals’ opener followed his 35-ball century as a 14-year-old in last year’s tournament – one which made him the youngest centurion in men’s T20s – with a 36-ball century against Pat Cummins’ Sunrisers Hyderabad two weeks ago.

The speed of those two tons has only been beaten by West Indies’ T20 legend Chris Gayle in the IPL.

Like Gayle, Sooryavanshi’s innings are built on brutal boundary hitting, though he gets there in a different way.

With a high yet unusual and whippy bat swing, his hands move away from his body as the bowler releases. He generates his power as the bat swishes back through the line to make contact.

It led former England captain Michael Vaughan to muse this week whether Sooryavanshi could become the “greatest striker of a cricket ball of all time”.

“His bat swing is quite unique,” says former India international Deep Dasgupta, another who has had a front row seat for the teenager’s rise, through his commentary at the IPL.

“It is not a taught bat swing. Batters go straight up and straight down – a linear path. This is more circular and wristy.”

The 61 sixes Sooryavanshi has managed in 17 IPL innings are only three fewer than former England captain Eoin Morgan managed in 75 knocks in the tournament.

India great Jasprit Bumrah, Australia metronome Josh Hazlewood and New Zealand swinger Trent Boult have all been smacked over the ropes in this year’s tournament.

There is often little culture – his most profitable shot is categorised by CricViz as a ‘slog’ – but the striking is remarkable for its regularity, its uncommon cleanness and its length.

“He gets a full flow and gets everything out of his bat swing but is then able to hold a really consistent base with his feet into the ground, with balance and keeping his head still,” Yardy says.

“I think there is a unique talent to it. You have got to have an extraordinary gift to do that.”

The International Olympic Committee says a ban on Belarusian athletes and teams competing under the flag of their nation should be lifted but that the restrictions on Russia remain in place.

The guidance was issued by the IOC executive board to international federations and international sports event organisers.

Both countries were suspended from Olympic competition after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with Belarus a close ally of Russia. A partial ban – allowing athletes to compete as neutrals – was introduced in 2023.

The IOC said, external it “reaffirms that athletes’ participation in international competition should not be limited by the actions of their governments, including involvement in a war or conflict”.

It added that, since 2023 “athletes with a Belarusian passport have participated as individual neutral athletes (AINs) in numerous international sporting events, as well as the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games, without any incident on or off the field of play”.

The move comes with the qualification period for both the LA28 Olympic Games and the Dolomiti Valtellina 2028 Winter Youth Olympic Games starting this summer.

IOC president Kirsty Coventry suggested, external in February that Russia could compete at the Games in Los Angeles in two years time.

But the IOC has decided that doping issues mean it is not ready to lift its ban on the country.

It explained that, unlike Russia, the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Belarus “is in good standing and complies with the Olympic Charter”.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) recently announced that more than 300 sanctions have been handed to Russian athletes following the seizure of Moscow laboratory data in 2019.

“While the ROC (Russian Olympic Committee) has held constructive exchanges with the IOC on its suspension, it remains suspended while the IOC legal affairs commission continues to review the matter,” said the IOC.

“The IOC EB (executive board) also noted with concern the recent information that has led to the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) looking into the Russian anti-doping system.

“The IOC EB would therefore like to obtain a better understanding of this situation.”

In September, the International Paralympic Committee lifted its ban on athletes from Belarus and Russia competing at the Winter Paralympics earlier this year, while World Aquatics has also announced athletes from the two countries can compete under their nations’ flags.

Fifa president Gianni Infantino suggested in February that world football’s governing body will look at lifting a ban on Russia, a move called “irresponsible” and “infantile” by Ukraine sports minister Matvii Bidnyi.

On Wednesday, ahead of this weekend’s El Clásico, which could see Barcelona crowned La Liga champions, Real Madrid teammates Fede Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni were involved in a training ground bust-up.

RMC Sport understands that the altercation began during the session when Tchouaméni accidentally landed a blow on Valverde.

This was not appreciated by the Uruguayan, who almost returned the favour.

The pair returned to the dressing room, where the atmosphere remained heated. However, the fight was simply verbal.

That changed on Thursday. Valverde refused to shake Tchouaméni’s hand, as per Marca. 

The former then took a swipe at the latter during the session. Alvaro Arbeloa tried to calm the situation but was unsuccessful.

When the pair returned to the dressing room, there was another fight and this time is was physical.

RMC Sport understands that, during the altercation, which teammates tried to break up, Valverde fell to the ground, cut his head, and lost consciousness.

The Uruguayan was then taken to hospital, in the company of Arbeloa, as per the Spanish press.