R Ashwin Tears Into BCCI Over Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Stand: "Succumbing To Social Media Pressure"
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who took the cricketing world by storm with his explosive batting, received his maiden international cap during the recently concluded five-match T20I series against England.
- Ravichandran Ashwin commented on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's India debut at age 15 in T20Is against England
- Ashwin questioned if Sooryavanshi's selection was influenced by social media pressure on selectors
- "You are saying that you can pick teams by succumbing to social media pressure?" said Ashwin
Former India all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin shared his views on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's India debut. The 15-year-old batting prodigy, who took the cricketing world by storm with his explosive batting, received his maiden international cap during the recently concluded five-match T20I series against England. After spending the three T20Is against Ireland and the opening match against England on the bench, Sooryavanshi was finally handed his debut in the second T20I. However, he was unable to make a significant impact, scoring 14, 13 and 15 in his three outings before being left out again for the fifth and final match of the series.
There was considerable demand on social media from fans as well as several former cricketers to include Sooryavanshi in the playing XI. Ashwin questioned whether the selectors and team management had bowed to public pressure and handed the youngster his India debut earlier than they ideally would have.
"I'm still telling you, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is an incredible player. If I were the selector, I would have also picked him. But let him take his time. This is called an internship, right? I sometimes thought that I should have played in this era. When I went for the Test tour, a lot of people on social media said Ashwin had to play," Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
"How can you drop him? But I still didn't play on the team. If I were out, they would keep me out because team management knows what the team needs. You are saying that you can pick teams by succumbing to social media pressure?" he added.
Ashwin also recalled his own experience of being dropped during a tour of England despite being in excellent form. However, he stressed that team managements ultimately make decisions based on what they believe is the most effective team combination.
"There have been times where I could have played, but there have been times where it was a 50-50 decision, and there were times where it was the right decision. I came to England with very good form, but the coach and captain spoke to me, and then I felt maybe they were doing it for the combination they wanted," said Ashwin.
"It is the team's decision. The team management is like a temple. If the outside noise is allowed to enter the team, whose fault is it? How can the outside pressure disturb the team? If the outside pressure is disturbing the team management, then think about the players," he added.
India Cricket Team
England Cricket Team
Ravichandran Ashwin