Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Sanju Samson
Vaibhav Suryavanshi may be on the verge of becoming India’s youngest international cricketer, but batting coach Sitanshu Kotak has made it clear that the teenager’s opportunity should not come at the expense of a player who is already performing.India begins the two-match T20I series against Ireland on Friday, and if Sooryavanshi is named in the playing XI, the 15-year-old will become the youngest player to represent India.
The team management, led by captain Shreyas Iyer and coach Gautam Gambhir, faces a selection call ahead of the opening match. One option could be to bring Sooryavanshi into the side instead of Abhishek Sharma and have him open alongside Sanju Samson or vice versa.Speaking on the eve of the match, Kotak praised the teenager’s ability but said team selection must also be fair to the players who have already scored.“Vaibhav is very talented, there is no doubt. The way he batted in the IPL and all the other games, there is no need to say that he has a lot of natural ability. Because in the IPL he faced Jofra, a lot of fast bowlers, a lot of experienced bowlers. And nothing seems to bother him,” he said.
“He is clearly an extraordinary talent,” Kotak said, according to news agency PTI.“Today evening, the captain and coach will decide on the team. And if he plays great, if he doesn’t play for me as well, then it’s great because he is part of the Indian team. I am sure he will get his dues and opportunities. So I don’t think that just to give him a chance, we should leave out someone who was already scoring,” he said.“That wouldn’t be right either. I think there’s a very fine line between trying to give someone a chance and being unfair to another player,” Kotak said.Kotak said the depth of talent in Indian cricket has made selection increasingly difficult and admitted that even the selectors have a difficult task.“If you ask me, there is so much talent in India that even the selectors have a headache. Honestly, I don’t have a big headache because I am not the head coach or captain.
But sometimes it’s difficult.”“But we also have to remember one thing that we should never ignore those who are actually performing, I think. Those who are already scoring, win matches for the team. The structure of the BCCI is that players will keep coming,” Kotak said when asked how difficult it is to leave players out of a World Cup-winning team.
