‘I gave him understanding’: Gautam Gambhir reveals what Vaibhav Sooryavanshi said

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Gautam Gambhir (Image credit: Agencies) India head coach Gautam Gambhir opened up about teenage batsman Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and explained why the youngster had to wait for his chance despite being in good form.Sooryavanshi made history earlier this year when he became the youngest Indian to play international cricket. He made his T20I debut against England at the age of 15 years and 99 days, breaking Sachin Tendulkar’s long-standing record.He then became the youngest player to score a half-century in men’s international cricket when he achieved the milestone against Zimbabwe at the age of 15 years and 118 days.

Gambhir explains Sooryavanshi’s waiting

Despite his early success, Sooryavanshi did not win a match during the entire series in Afghanistan or the one-off T20I against Japan before the Asian Games.The 15-year-old returned to the India XI for the Asian Games semi-final against Sri Lanka. He made a bigger contribution in the game, scoring 38 off 21 balls.Gambhir said he explained to Sooryavanshi that being in good form does not always mean that a player will get an opportunity immediately.“It was also a new experience for me. Yes, he was in good form, but I made him understand that because of players who have done well for a long time, he will have to wait for his opportunity. And there is one more thing, social media and outside noise do not decide the playing eleven,” Gambhir said on JioStar.

“We cannot suddenly ignore the combination”

Gambhir said that the playing eleven is selected based on what the coach and captain believe is the best combination to win the match.“It depends on who’s in that dressing room, or who the coach and the captain feel can win us the game, or what’s the best playing XI and who’s been doing so well for so long. Because if Vaibhav plays today, it’s going to be a tough conversation between me and whoever we leave out, whether it’s Abhishek or Sanju.”“So we can’t suddenly ignore a combination that has created such an impact over the last year and a half or two years and after three or four setbacks drop them and play a young player who is very talented, who is also in very good form. So sometimes you have to wait for your opportunity because we want to create that certainty in that dressing room,” he added.

Sooryavanshi creates another record

Sooryavanshi also played a role in India’s successful title defense at the Asian Games. He scored a quick 15 off nine balls in the final as India beat Pakistan by 19 runs to retain the gold medal.At 15 years, six months and six days, Sooryavanshi also became the youngest Indian to win a gold medal at the Asian Games.He surpassed shooter Saurabh Chaudhary, who was 16 years, three months and nine days, when he won the 10m air pistol gold medal at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta.