After a stellar Indian Premier League series and a good A tour in Sri Lanka, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s debut was the talk of the town in the cricketing fraternity. The Indian team travelled to Ireland, but those who wanted to see how Sooryavanshi would fare on the international stage were left disappointed, as the teenager was not given his cap. Former South African cricketer AB de Villiers asked when Sooryavanshi will be released.
“When will he be unleashed? I thought the Ireland series was the perfect opportunity for him to come in and get a feel for international cricket. It was unfortunate that he never got an opportunity. I beg to differ with Ryan Ten Doeschate saying Sooryavanshi has to go through the process like any other player. After the IPL he had, it was time to throw him into the deep end, especially against a lower team like Ireland,” said De Villers on his YouTube channel.
De Villiers also warned the Indian’s batting approach, which faltered twice in Ireland. He said the batting lineup has to adapt in England as the scores will not be as high as 250 or 260, which came regularly in the IPL.
“There is some work to do for Team India. They need to regroup and reset and find a method to play in the UK. It’s not easy in those conditions, where the scores are not like they are in the IPL. You don’t get to the 250s and 260s there. It is more strategic and tactical out there, where sometimes 140 or 160 is enough,” said De Villiers
“You still have to lay the foundation and there are ebbs and flows, similar to Test cricket. That’s what India need to figure out in their T20 setup when they play in the UK kind of conditions. Wait for the right moments to pull the trigger and go to fifth gear. Be prepared to sometimes pull back on odd occasions,” he added.