"We Got Carried Away By Media Hype": Ex-India Star On Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's International Debut
As Vaibhav Sooryavanshi returned with scores of 14, 13 and 15 in three games, Team India decided to exclude him from the fifth and final T20I against England.
- Former India batter Wasim Jaffer criticized the early debut of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
- The teenager scored 14, 13, and 15 in the T20I series vs England before being excluded for the last game
- "We got carried away by media hype. Every time Vaibhav didn't play, there was a lot of discussion" - Jaffer
The musical chairs continued with India's opening combination as the side dropped Vaibhav Sooryavanshi for Sanju Samson in the fifth and final T20I against England on Saturday. Samson had begun the series but was dropped for the second match to make way for the 15-year-old wonderkid. As Sooryavanshi returned with scores of 14, 13 and 15 in three games, the Indian team management decided to exclude him from the final game for Samson. Reacting to the change, former India batter Wasim Jaffer stated that Team India handed the player an early debut by getting carried away by the hype around him.
"I think we rushed Vaibhav's inclusion. There was a lot of media hype around him, and the public was very emotional about seeing him play. Otherwise, I had already said that India should have continued with Sanju Samson. They shouldn't have changed that combination. Vaibhav had to wait for his opportunity, and when that opportunity came, he could have taken it. He's still very young, and he can learn a lot just by being around the team and watching cricket from the outside," said Jaffer in a video on his YouTube channel.
"It felt like we got carried away by the media hype. Every time Vaibhav didn't play, there was a lot of discussion about it. I just thought he should have been made to wait. If you were absolutely convinced that Sanju wasn't in good form or wasn't playing well, then you could have taken that decision. But eventually, it felt like you rushed Vaibhav into the team," he added.
India play a three-match series against Zimbabwe in their next T20I assignment. Interestingly, Samson is not a part of the squad while Sooryavanshi has been included. Jaffer opined that the wicketkeeper-batter should have been given more chances.
"Then, after giving him three matches (to Sooryavanshi), you brought Sanju back. Sanju himself played only one match, and now he's been left out of the Zimbabwe tour. Dropping him from the Zimbabwe tour also seemed a bit strange to me because I'm sure he would have wanted to play. As it is, he only plays one format for India. He should be given regular opportunities. I'm sure Sanju Samson will be part of the plans for the next World Cup because he's a match-winner. The way things unfolded really surprised me," Jaffer concluded.
India Cricket Team
England Cricket Team