Vaibhav Sooryavanshi burst onto the international scene in spectacular fashion during India’s first T20I against Zimbabwe on Thursday, becoming the youngest player ever to score a maiden T20I half-century.The 15-year-old became the youngest player to score a maiden T20I half-century after hitting an 18-ball fifty in Harare. It was a timely response from the teenage batsman, who had managed scores of 14, 13 and 15 in his first three appearances for India during the T20I series against England. After those outings, Sooryavanshi was left out of the playing XI for the fifth and final T20I. His exclusion came amid intense scrutiny over India’s selection decisions. First in the England series, Saint Samsonwho had been India’s Player of the Tournament during their T20 World Cup winning campaign, was dropped from the side, with Sooryavanshi brought into the playing XI. However, for the fifth game, the management reversed course, restoring Samson and leaving out the young man. Samson was subsequently omitted from the India squad for the Zimbabwe tour. Former India captain and ex-BCCI selector Krishnamachari Srikkanth admitted he was baffled by the decision to drop Sooryavanshi after just three failures and took aim at the head coach. Gautam Gambhir above the movement. “He (Sooryavanshi) has an effortless range of shots, but not a single shot has been crossed. This boy is really something special. How Gautam Gambhir stupidly dropped him, of all people, after three failures to shatter his confidence.” said Srikkanth, speaking on his YouTube channel, as quoted by Sportskeeda. With Gambhir not accompanying the team in the tour of Zimbabwe, the former batsman in India VVS Laxman serves as the team’s interim coach. Srikkanth also highlighted the youngster’s commitment to improvement, revealing that Sooryavanshi returned to work immediately after the England series instead of taking a break. “I salute Vaibhav for his dedication. After the England series, he did not go home and instead went straight to the Rajasthan Royals field He has been working on his batting against the short ball because he wants to show the whole world that he is special,” added Srikkanth. The 1983 World Cup winner was equally impressed by the fearless approach shown by Sooryavanshi despite the pressure of keeping his place in the national team. According to Srikkanth, many young players would have opted for a safer route after a string of low scores, but the teenager remained committed to his attacking game. “The ease with which he scored at a rate of 250 is extraordinary. Normally, after three failures, other players would have tried to safeguard their place in the Indian team by taking singles and twos. Scoring a 50 off 18 balls became child’s play for him. That is his greatness,” Srikkanth elaborated.Sooryavanshi’s explosive innings not only earned him a place in the record books but also strengthened his case as one of India’s most exciting young batting talents. Srikkanth’s comments also highlighted the selection dilemmas and team combination questions that India continue to face.
