After Team India lost their 1st encounter vs Ireland on Friday, the general feeling is, that the management should have gone ahead and player 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who so effectively plays his shots, notwithstanding the opposition and the conditions. The Shreyas Iyer-led side lost by 34 runs while chasing 183, in what turned out to be their first ever loss to this particular opposition, in any format.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi should not be rushed
But then, the decision to not include Sooryavanshi, was perhaps the correct one. Or at least former India spinner R Ashwin feels so. Ashwin asked the fans to be patient, as that the teenager should not be rushed into the XI. “Please, everyone, think about the game with some wisdom. Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma opened together, and Sanju batted very well in the World Cup. If you bench one of them to play Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, what is the point of calling this a team game?” he said on Youtube channel Ash Ki Baat.
He would learn even being on the sidelines
He added, that even by watching the team play, from the sidelines, is only going to help him further develop his skills. In fact, let him serve the players in the XI, and serve them water. “I know we all want to see Vaibhav Sooryavanshi play. We are all fans, and he is a great entertainer. But not at any cost. There is value in sitting outside and watching the game too. Let him serve the team, help out, even bring water.
“There is a lot to learn from that experience. A great player doesn’t become one overnight. Once Vaibhav starts playing, he might never be dropped it could happen, just as it did with Sachin Tendulkar. But if he spends some time outside the playing XI first, he will get empathy and a better understanding of the team environment. He has a long and illustrious career ahead of him. Sitting outside is also a role,” Ashwin added.
