Legendary Sunil Gavaskar did not take kindly to India's decision to drop 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi for the fifth and final T20I against England. Playing in Southampton, India decided to bench the generational youngster and bring back Sanju Samson, a player the Gautam Gambhir-led team management had dropped midway through the series.
Sooryavanshi, who played three of the seven matches on India's tour of the United Kingdom, scored a total of 42 runs in his three brief outings against England. Despite batting at a high strike rate, Vaibhav was unable to handle the extra bounce generated by the England pacers in his three innings.
GAVASKAR ANGRY AT SOORYAVANSHI CALL
Vaibhav had come into the team in place of Sanju Samson, who endured a horror run with the bat during the tours of Ireland and England. The fact that Vaibhav was dropped after just three matches did not sit well with Gavaskar, who slammed the team management for their decision at Southampton.
"Not having him in the team is very, very disappointing," Sunil Gavaskar said, shaking his head after the decision was announced at the toss.
"The thing about opening batters is that they can bat down the order in the white-ball format. He has shown potential. If this was a must-win game, I would have agreed with the call to play some experienced guy. This is a nothing game. I think we have missed out on an opportunity. I just hope that somebody puts an arm around his shoulder and tells him that this is not the end. I just think it is a little hard to drop a 15-year-old after just three matches," Gavaskar added.
ISN'T HE YOUR BIGGEST TALENT?
Speaking on the same Sony panel, former England cricketer Graeme Swann also criticised the Indian team management, saying the decision made little sense to him.
Swann argued that if the team truly believed Sooryavanshi was a generational talent, they needed to give him more opportunities than just three matches.
"In the three games that he has played, he has shown what he is capable of. If he had been blown away in those three games, wide-eyed, stumps everywhere, then fair enough. You are bringing back Sanju, who got 5, 0, 1. At least this kid got 13, 14, 15. Sanju, in the last three games, did not know where the runs were coming from," Swann said.
"You have now got Sooryavanshi out of the way, but he is 15. You have to tread a bit lightly because he is not emotionally developed, and this could knock him back three or four months. I think that if you have a 15-year-old who could be one of the best ever, you have to nurture that. He has become the victim of the team's performance," Swann concluded.
India's handling of Sooryavanshi is likely to remain a talking point even after the series ends. While the team management opted to bring back experience for the final game, the decision to drop a 15-year-old after just three matches will raise questions on the thought process of the Indian team management.
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