Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is the toast of the season in the Indian Premier League (IPL), with his utterly astonishing exploits with the bat making as many headlines around the world as the fact that he is only 15 years old. All this came after being the driving force in India’s U19 World Cup victory earlier this year, before which he turned heads simply because of being picked up in the IPL as a 14-year-old first and then nearly breaking Chris Gayle’s record for fastest T20 century of all time.
All of it has led to the now 15-year-old . If he does so, he will be the youngest India debutant of all time in men’s cricket, surpassing the legendary Sachin Tendulkar who famously made his debut in a Test match against Pakistan in Karachi in 1989 at the age of 16 years and 205 days. However, amid all the noise, former Australia captain has cautioned against putting too much pressure on Sooryavanshi.
Finch said that an introduction to the Indian T20 team, which is what Sooryavanshi is in line for, would mean that he will be playing in a side that just won a second consecutive T20 World Cup. “Maybe it’s the right time to introduce him around the squad, give him some time, but it’s also really important that you respect the players that are doing the job game in, game out for India,” Finch is quoted as saying by PTI.
Finch said that it is important to give Sooryavanshi the space to enjoy his cricket and learn. “Playing cricket for India is the highest pressure you could possibly feel. They’re coming off a World Cup win, these guys have done it on the biggest stage. So I think you still have to respect that and wait for an opportunity to present itself. If there’s form or if there’s fitness issues, why not? Give it a crack. But also just let the kid play, let him continue to learn the game.”
“He’s an incredibly fast learner, whether it be technically, tactically, but he’s still got so much to learn and I love the fact that he seems to come with different plans a lot of the time. That shows his growth as a player, as such a young person,” Finch said.
“That’s a really incredible skill and no doubt that the opportunity will come. But just don’t put too much pressure on the youngster. Just let him play.”
