‘It’s never too late’: Kapil Dev quotes Sachin Tendulkar amid debate over Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s debut

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (Getty Images) NEW DELHI: The debate over Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s Indian debut refuses to die down. The 15-year-old batting sensation was part of India’s T20I squads for the tours of Ireland and England, but is still awaiting his first international cap.While fans are still clamoring for his inclusion, former India captain Kapil Dev shared an interesting insight. While cautioning against creating too much hype around the youngster, he also said India should not wait too long if they believe he is ready.Comparing Sachin Tendulkar’s early debut, Kapil said, “There are a few things – and we can mention Sachin because he was the same age when he played. We used to wonder if we were playing him too early. But when you look at history, you realize (and think), ‘kabhi kabhi late na ho jaye’ (what if you delay it?).

“Count his skills, not his age”

Kapil believes that Sooryavanshi should be selected on merit, not on the basis of his age.“I feel that if he is ready, his age shouldn’t count (taken into consideration), but his ability does. If you feel he can be played on his ability, then he should be played,” Kapil told Sports Tak.“He is as good as Sachin and Virat in terms of talent”Kapil was also very complimentary of the youngster’s natural abilities.He said Sooryavanshi has the kind of talent seen in legends like Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli, though he still has to prove himself outside the T20 format.“If you talk about talent, yes, he is as good as Sachin (Tendulkar) or Virat Kohli and the talent is visible in him for T20, (but) for the rest (formats), he will have to prove (himself),” Kapil said. On the day he plays Test cricket, can he play a five-over maiden? In T20 he is fabulous, to make such an impression at such a young age, you don’t find even one per cent of people like that in the world.”

‘Don’t create so much hype’

Kapil supported the youngster’s talent while advising everyone to give him time to grow.“I haven’t seen much of him, I’ve only seen a little bit. He’s got immense talent, no doubt,” Kapil said.“But (at the same time) I think we’re talking too big about him. He needs to give him some time at the moment. Don’t create so much (hype) around him, someone who’s young doesn’t even have that understanding…,” he said.

Hard times will come

Kapil also reminded everyone that every great batsman goes through tough phases in his career.The real test for Sooryavanshi, he says, will be how he handles these challenges.“It’s not that his bad patch won’t come, tough times will come, how would he come out of it? There are only a few cricketers who have never had a bad patch, be it Sachin Tendulkar or Sunil Gavaskar or Vivian Richards,” he said.“All players have gone through tough times… and a cricketer of his calibre, (it remains to be seen), how would he come out of it? He looks so talented and the new generation kids are just so confident,” he added.Sooryavanshi won his place in the Indian team after a sensational IPL season and traveled with the team to Ireland and England.