By the look of things, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi may have to wait longer before he gets a chance to debut for Team India. Ahead of Saturday’s second T20I against England at the Old Trafford Cricket Ground, bowling coach Morne Morkel has made it pretty clear that they can not drop any of their top-order batsmen — Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan — on the basis of a couple of failures to bring in teenage star Sooryavanshi. The former South African pacer explained how important it was for the team management to back the players who had done so well for the country in recent months.
“I think we just need to also respect the fact that we’ve got the number one batter, or we had our number one batter in T20 cricket, Abhishek Sharma [only recently dethroned by Kishan]. You know, Sanju was the player of the T20 World Cup,” Morkel said ahead of the second T20I against England on Friday. It may be noted that following the 2-0 drubbing by Ireland the first game in Chester-le-Street against England was abandoned due to rain after India had put 189/7 on the board on Wednesday.
“He [Samson] had a great IPL. So I think as a coaching staff, it’s only fair to show the faith and back your players. Yes, there’s a young man knocking on the door, and it’s exciting, but I reckon for not just those two players at the top, but for the rest of the group, it’s a good sign that we show that we back you guys. It’s about putting performances on the board. That is key. But also, if you look at it, we also don’t want to think too much and bat other players out of positions.
“It’s a matter of backing some of the guys who’ve won World Cups, who’ve done really well for you in tough situations, and then also from there, build and see how we can structure and make our top order as good as possible in these conditions,” he continued.
‘Sooryavanshi has fitted in well’
Morkel, however, was quite pleased with the way Sooryavanshi had fitted in with the rest of the team members. “I think he’s fitted in very, very well. I think if you follow the boys on Instagram, there’s already a lot of photos that have been posted, you know, with him especially.
“And, you know, just the way the guys have welcomed him, I think at the nets as a 15-year-old at the international stage, it can be intimidating. But just the couple of nets we’ve had, it’s been very impressive. And, we’re all excited to see how he goes. And when he gets an opportunity, I’m pretty sure he’ll be ready. But in terms of coming into the squad and fitting in, it’s been very smooth,” Morkel said.
