There was some talk about India not keeping Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in the playing XI in their three-match T20I series against Afghanistan, but head coach Gautam Gambhir has clarified that the 15-year-old prodigy will have to wait for his chance.
Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson opened for India in the series, with Abhishek scoring the third-fastest century in T20Is in Thursday’s 127-run victory in New Delhi.
Sooryavanshi made his international debut against England in July, but had failed to make an impact. He scored two fifties against Zimbabwe in Harare later that month, though.
“Whether you’re a 15-year-old or a 30-year-old, when you have to wait for your opportunity you have to wait for your opportunity,” Gambhir said.
“We know the kind of talent he has and what he can do, but someone who has been performing for the last two to three years will always be ahead of someone who has just entered the team.
“Whenever he (Sooryavanshi) gets his run, he will get a longer run as well… we want competition and talent in the dressing room.”
Toughest call
In England a couple of months back, Sanju Samson had to make way for Sooryavanshi despite being the Player of the Tournament in India’s triumphant T20 World Cup campaign.
Reflecting on that decision, Gambhir said: “Obviously, it was tough (dropping Samson). Probably the toughest decision I’ve taken in my coaching tenure is leaving him out in that England series, because, obviously, the way he’s performed before that. But again, sometimes you go with players’ form as well.”
“In this series, we were always very clear that we want to go back to the combination that we had during the World Cup, because those guys, after three or four failures, do not become bad players.”
Mission 300
Given India’s rich talent, Gambhir believes that the team can breach the 300-run mark in T20Is. India’s highest total in T20Is is 297, made against Bangladesh in 2024.
“For me, the biggest positive was when we got a 100 in the Powerplay. That we have never done in my coaching tenure. So I think that was a very clear message that if you’re going hard, just keep going hard.
“That is what the message is, that is exactly the message that’s going to be in future as well… that we still haven’t reached 300. So that’s probably the next target because the kind of talent we have in that dressing room, we should be doing some incredible things.”
On the same note, the coach also spoke about the impact that Abhishek’s aggressive batting has on the team and the game.
“Look, I just want to say one thing. It’s not about the 100 that he scored today (Thursday). But it’s just the impact. The only thing that we talk in that dressing room is about how much impact can we create with the bat and how much impact can we create with the ball. And that has been our ideology,” Gambhir said.
“That has been our philosophy since the last two years. T20 cricket is not about runs or wickets. It’s about how much impact can you create.”