Was Team India Right To Deny Vaibhav Sooryavanshi A Debut? Ambati Rayudu Responds
Ambati Rayudu stood by the Indian team management's decision not to hand Vaibhav Sooryavanshi his T20I debut in the Ireland series.
As fans and some former cricketers lash out at the Indian team management for denying Vaibhav Sooryavanshi the opportunity to make his T20I debut for the senior national team against Ireland, former India batter Ambati Rayudu has taken a contrasting stance. Rayudu, who has performed brilliantly in white-ball cricket both with the Indian team and in the Indian Premier League (IPL), knows a thing or two about making a name for himself in limited-overs cricket. When asked about the management's decision to deny Sooryavanshi his T20I debut against Ireland, Rayudu said that it was the right call.
India's assistant coach, Ryan ten Doeschate, said that although Sooryavanshi is ready to play at this level, there's a process that the management needs to follow when it comes to giving opportunities to newcomers.
For Rayudu, the experience of warming the bench against Ireland will be a steep learning curve for Sooryavanshi, who might end up making his debut in the upcoming assignment.
"I think they did the right thing. I think it's a good learning curve for Sooryavanshi to be in the dressing room, to know the nitty-gritties of what is required to play in the Indian side, and what his role would be. There'll be a lot of learning that he'll take from these games and eventually, whenever he gets his opportunity, he'll be much better prepared. The incumbents definitely deserve a go because they have done well for India and they have won the World Cup for India. So, you know, they should be persisted with, and whenever an opportunity arises, Sooryavanshi will be better prepared," Rayudu said in a virtual media conference organised by Sony Sports Network.
India ended up losing the T20I series against Ireland 0-2, a first in the country's cricketing history.
Rayudu was also asked about India head coach Gautam Gambhir's preference for playing a lot of part-timers and all-rounders in the team. The coach's preference in this aspect of the game has also seen him draw some criticism. When Rayudu was asked for his views, he stated that team compositions should depend on conditions and the opposition, rather than adhering to one set pattern.
"It should definitely depend on the conditions at hand. Generally, how the Indian team works is they always try and prepare for a big tournament that is coming up. In this case, that will be the World Cup in a few years, so they're going to prepare for it. When it comes to bilaterals, they just give themselves the leeway of trying to see how things go when you play two all-rounders or three all-rounders, compared to when you play specialised players.
"So, they get a good reading of what can be good or what can't be good. These are the matches and these are the times where a lot of managements-I wouldn't say experiment-but would like to read into what happens when we go down this route. That is exactly what is happening at the moment with India's T20 side," Rayudu said.
India Cricket Team
Ambati Rayudu