IND vs WI, 2nd T20I:With less than 24 hours to go for the second T20I against the West Indies, Team India’s 15-year-old batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was seen unleashing sixes at will in the nets at the JSCA International Stadium Complex in Ranchi on October 8, Thursday.
A video surfaced on social media showed the left-handed batter stepping out of the crease and hitting crisp shot for sixes.
IND vs WI, 2nd T20I: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi takes bowlers to the cleaners during the practice session in Ranchi
The 15-year-old, yet to play an international game in India, has come back into focus after Sanju Samson’s failure in the opening T20I against the West Indies. Despite Sooryavanshi’s promise and potential, the Men in Blue are highly unlikely to tinker away from the opening combination of Samson and Abhishek Sharma. Moreover, former Indian Test batter Cheteshwar Pujara, speaking to JioHotstar, threw weight behind Samson and stated:
‘I hope that there is no pressure on him, because there shouldn’t be. He has won a World Cup for the Indian team and performed exceptionally well there. He’s a quality player. So there shouldn’t be any questions around him being part of the playing XI. Yes, you might have one or two bad games, and then if he has that, that’s the time when the team management has to step in, to give him the right message that, ‘You are an important part of this team and will be part of this playing XI, so just go out there, express yourself, play your natural game.’
The Rajasthan Royals star had made his international debut in England at the Old Trafford in Manchester. While Sooryavanshi largely struggled in England, he earned the Player of the Series award in the subsequent T20I series against Zimbabwe for two fifties in three matches.
IND vs WI, 2nd T20I: What is India’s T20I record in Ranchi
With Ranchi set to host the second T20I, the hosts have a strong record at the venue.
The only T20I out of four they have lost came against New Zealand in early 2023. With the Kiwis making 176 and setting 177 for the Men in Blue to chase down, they fell 21 runs short of the opposition’s total.