NEW DELHI: The excitement around Vaibhav Sooryavanshi continues to grow as India prepare to face England in the second T20I of the five-match series at Old Trafford on Saturday.The 15-year-old batting sensation was included in India’s squads for the T20I series against Ireland and England after a sensational IPL season. However, he is still waiting for his international debut. While fans and experts continue to call for his inclusion, India’s 1983 World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev has urged everyone not to put too much pressure on the youngster.“I haven’t seen him play much. He is a huge talent, without any doubt. But I think we are talking too big about him. At the moment, give him some time. Don’t hype him so much. He is young at the moment and doesn’t have the age to understand everything,” Kapil Dev told Sports Tak.
‘As talented as Sachin and Virat’
Kapil believes Sooryavanshi possesses extraordinary talent and even compared him with two of India’s greatest batters – Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli.However, he said the teenager still has to prove himself in the longer formats of the game.“If you talk about talent, yes, he is as good as Sachin (Tendulkar) and Virat Kohli. This much talent is visible in him, but only in T20 cricket. In the rest of the formats, he will have to prove himself,” he added.
‘Don’t count his age, count his ability’
Kapil also backed the youngster for an India debut if the team management believes he is ready.Drawing parallels with Sachin Tendulkar’s early international debut, the former India captain said ability should matter more than age.“He is fabulous in T20s. You would not find even one per cent of players making such an impact at such a tender age. We can talk about Sachin because he too was very young when we played him. We kept thinking if it was too early, but if you look at history, you fear you might be too late. If he is ready, don’t count his age, count his ability,” the former India captain said.Sooryavanshi scored 776 runs at a remarkable strike rate of 237.30, almost single-handedly taking Rajasthan Royals into the playoffs. His performances earned him a place in India’s squads for the T20I series against Ireland and England, as well as the Asian Games.Despite being selected, Sooryavanshi did not feature in either of the two T20Is against Ireland.Ahead of both matches, fans and former cricketers debated whether India should hand him his debut. Those calls became even louder after India suffered a shocking 2-0 series defeat, with the top order struggling in both games.The demand for Sooryavanshi’s inclusion continued into the England series as well.However, the 15-year-old remained on the bench in the rain-hit first T20I at Chester-le-Street, which ended in a no-result after persistent rain.
All eyes on Manchester
With the series still level after the washout, attention has now shifted to the second T20I at Old Trafford in Manchester.Whether India finally hand Sooryavanshi his much-awaited debut remains one of the biggest talking points ahead of Saturday’s clash.