Monday threw up the first serious non-cricketing test of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s fledgling career. The 15-year-old will be the first to admit that it was a test he didn’t pass, let alone with flying colours.
The 15-year-old. Not that anyone needs reminding, but let’s just keep that in mind for the time being.
The scenes at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium after India ‘A’ lost their tri-series league clash to their Sri Lankan opponents in a Super Over did none of the protagonists any credit. A gripping contest that had swung one way, then the other, ended in regulation time with the scores dead level. The playing conditions called for a Super Over to decide the stalemate, the umpires weren’t sure if the light was sufficient to facilitate the shootout, India ‘A’ captain Tilak Varma – the new vice-captain of the senior side – insisted stridently, maybe too forcefully, that the Super Over be gone through and the hosts emerged victorious, all of this providing an incendiary subplot to the final flare-up that involved the young Indian superstar and Vishen Halambage, 21.
There was a touch of irony to Niroshan Dickwella, the former Sri Lankan wicketkeeper with a chequered history when it comes to discipline, getting involved in dousing the fires, though the acrid aftertaste of the physical contact between Sooryavanshi and Halambage in what is entirely a non-contact sport will linger for some time to come.
One isn’t sure what was said as Sooryavanshi and Suryansh Shedge trudged off, already disconsolate, after mustering only nine in the Super Over in reply to the Lankans’ 16. Surely, there must have been a jibe or three at India’s insistence on the tie-breaker coming back to bite them. And maybe not very politely at that. One doesn’t condone that, but it happens, the use of the lip. Some of the most celebrated and high-profile stars have thought little of being liberal with verbals, thereby tacitly encouraging their fans and other cricketers who look up to them to follow suit. There is nothing wrong with passion on the field of play because otherwise, what’s the point of playing, right? But that passion must not cross the limits of acceptable behaviour, and unfortunately, on Monday, those limits weren’t just crossed, they were smashed beyond recognition.
Also Read: Why Vaibhav Sooryavanshi snapped at Vishen Halambage
Without being privy to the provocation that led Shedge to point his bat at the Lankans and for Sooryavanshi to retrace his steps and get into a shoving match with Halambage, it would be out of place to apportion blame and point fingers. What can be said unequivocally is that the optics were terrible. These ‘A’ series, which pit exciting youngsters (has there ever been a youngster more exciting than Sooryavanshi?) and those on the comeback trail against similarly placed individuals from other countries, are supposed to be fertile breeding grounds – breeding camaraderie, among other things. Incidents such as those in Dambulla have no place on the field of play, in any sport at any level.
Sooryavanshi still learning
His extraordinary deeds over the last several months notwithstanding, Sooryavanshi isn’t a man in a boy’s garb. He is a boy, for all practical purposes; his father is travelling with him to Sri Lanka, and the BCCI has offered to facilitate the travel of both his parents to Ireland and England later this month when he embarks on his first adventure with the senior side after being named in the T20I squad. He will be prone to doing ‘boy-things’ from time to time (though it must be said that apart from showcasing great sadness at being dismissed each time, he has conducted himself with admirable poise despite the intense scrutiny), which is perhaps what was the case on Monday evening when the bitter reality of a narrow loss and a few craftily directed words finally got his goat.
Sooryavanshi can expect more of the same going forward. Now that he has revealed a slight (again, non-cricketing) chink, opponents will look to exploit it. It will be up to him, along with his mentors and coaches, to ensure that he develops a thick skin, refuses to cave in to the ‘noise’ around him and remains insulated from slights and insults, like the man to whom he is unfairly being compared, even though Sachin Tendulkar has 24 years of international cricket over the lad from Samastipur.
Sooryavanshi got into a (non-contact) scrap with the Pakistan Under-19 boys during the Asia Cup last year, then immediately apologised for his antics. He has shown himself to be a quick learner when it comes to his batting, and there is no reason to believe he can’t replicate that in other aspects too. Let’s cut him slack – hey, he’s only 15 – but also insist that those entrusted with his holistic growth are in his ear. After all, he is too precious a talent to be lost to temperamental outbursts.
