Shreyas Iyer Sooryavanshi’s advice echoes Gambhir’s message: Sometimes we have to wait

It was almost a month ago that Gautam Gambhir was asked about Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and why he is not playing for India. It was then a T20I series against Afghanistan and India comfortably wrapped up the series heading into the final match.

However, India opted to stick with Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma at that time. Gambhir had a simple message at the time. He has already mediated one to a 15-year-old youth.

“From Vaibhav’s point of view, it’s again a very clear conversation that he has to wait for his opportunity. We know the kind of talent he has. We know what he can do. But again, someone who has done extremely well over the years is obviously always going to be ahead of someone who has made the team. Whenever he gets that chance, you also get a longer run,” Gambhir said.

“And that’s what Indian cricket is all about. We want competition, we want that talent in the dressing room. But sometimes that’s the way it goes in cricket. Whether it’s a 15-year-old or a 30-year-old, you have to wait for the opportunity.”

India vs West Indies 5th T20I: MAIN | SCORECARD

While Sooryavanshi got his chances during the Asian Games as an opener when Samson batted at No.3. Sooryavanshi scored 53 runs in two matches during the games, with a strike rate of 176.66. However, he was once again relegated to the bench for the entire West Indies series.

While fans and pundits may be displeasedShreyas Iyer believes that it is all about the patience of the child. After being bowled out in the 5th T20I, the Indian skipper was asked how he copes with a talent like Sooryavanshi.

Shreyas said he tells the 15-year-old to stay consistent with his processes and wait for an opportunity.

“I’m just telling him you’ll get an opportunity if you’re consistent in your processes, you’ll have to wait sometime, we have two fantastic openers, that’s the conversation we had with Vaibhav,” Shreyas said.

The series ended in a 2–2 draw and Shreyas felt that if the team had played better, the result would have been different.

“It could have been different considering we would have bowled better in the second and fourth games. Credit where it’s due, they batted well. The way (Shai) Hope batted the whole series,” Shreyas said.

India will now travel to New Zealand for the start of the T20I leg starting on October 22.

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