New Delhi: The debate over Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s debut in India still remains unresolved. The 15-year-old batting star has been part of India’s T20I tours of Ireland and England but is still waiting for his first international appearance.As fans continue to demand his inclusion, former India captain Kapil Dev An interesting point shared. While he warned against building too much hype around the youngster, he also said India should not wait too long if they believe he is ready.Compare with Sachin TendulkarOn Sachin’s early debut, Kapil said: “A few things – we can mention Sachin because he was the same age when he came on. We had doubts if we were playing him a little too early.” But if you see history, you realize (and think), ‘kabhi kabhi Late na ho jaye’ (What if you end up delaying?). “
“Calculate his abilities, not his age”
Kapil believes Suryavanshi should be selected on the basis of merit and not on the basis of age.“I feel if he is ready, his age should not be considered, but his ability should be considered. If you feel he can play with his ability, then he should play,” Kapil told Sports Tak in an interview.“In terms of talent, he is as good as Sachin and Virat”Kapil also spoke highly of the youngster’s talent.He said Sooryavanshi has the talent of legends like Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli, although he still needs to prove himself outside the T20 format.“If you talk about talent, yes, he is as good as Sachin (Tendulkar) or Virat Kohli and his talent can be seen in T20s, (but) for the rest (formats), he has to prove (himself),” Kapil said. On the day he plays Test cricket, can he play five overs? He was already outstanding in his 20s and could have such a huge influence at such a young age. There are not even 1% of such people in the world. “
“Don’t create so much hype”
While supporting the youngster’s talent, Kapil also advised everyone to give him time to grow.“I haven’t seen much of him, just a little bit. There is no doubt that he has tremendous talent,” Kapil said.“But (at the same time), I think we talk too much about him. At the moment, he needs to be given some time. Don’t create so much (hype) around him, a young guy doesn’t even have that understanding…”, he said.
Hard times will come
Kapil also reminded everyone that every great batsman goes through difficult phases in his career.According to him, the real test for Sooryavanshi will be how he handles these challenges.“It’s not that his bad times won’t come, hard times will come and how will he get out of them? There are only a few cricketers who have never gone through bad times, be it Sachin Tendulkar or Sunil Gavaskar Or Vivian Richards,” he said.“All players go through tough times… and a cricketer like him, (it remains to be seen) how he will come out of it? He looks very talented and the new generation of kids are very confident,” he added.After a fantastic IPL season, Sooryavanshi earned a place in the Indian team and traveled with the team to Ireland and England.
