Cricket / Gautam Gambhir Explains Why Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Must Wait for His Turn

New Delhi, Oct 5: Teenage batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s meteoric rise has sparked excitement across Indian cricket, but head coach Gautam Gambhir believes the youngster’s journey must be guided with patience and perspective.

While acknowledging Sooryavanshi’s extraordinary achievements at just 15, Gambhir has emphasized that opportunities in the national side are shaped not only by talent and form but also by team balance.

Earlier this year, Sooryavanshi became the youngest Indian to play international cricket at 15 years and 99 days against England, breaking Sachin Tendulkar’s long-standing record.

Also read: India Retain Asian Games Gold with Win over Pakistan

He then went on to script history by becoming the youngest player to score a half-century in men’s international cricket, achieving the feat against Zimbabwe at 15 years and 118 days.

Despite his early success, the 15-year-old did not feature in the Afghanistan series or the one-off T20I against Japan in the lead-up to the Asian Games. He returned to the playing XI in the semifinal against Sri Lanka, where he impressed with a fluent 38 off 21 balls.

Reflecting on the situation, Gambhir explained on JioStar: “It was a new experience for me as well. Yes, he was in good form, but I made him understand that sometimes, because of the players who have done well for a long time, he will have to wait for his opportunity. And there’s one more thing, social media or outside noise doesn’t decide the playing eleven.”

He further elaborated on the challenges of team selection: “It depends on who in that dressing room, or who the coach and captain feel can win us the match, or what is the best playing eleven, and who have done well for such a long time. Because if Vaibhav plays today, then it’s going to be a tough conversation between me and whoever we leave out, whether it’s Abhishek or Sanju.”

Gambhir emphasized the need for continuity and security within the squad: “We can’t suddenly ignore a combination that has created such an impact over the last one and a half or two years, and after three or four failures, drop them and play a young player who is very talented, who is also in very good form. So, sometimes you will have to wait for your opportunity because we want to create that security in that dressing room.”

Sooryavanshi, meanwhile, continued to make headlines at the Asian Games final, scoring a brisk 15 off nine balls as India defended their gold medal with a 19-run win over Pakistan. At 15 years, six months and six days, he became the youngest Indian to win an Asian Games gold medal, surpassing shooter Saurabh Chaudhary’s record from 2018.

(IANS)