Vaibhav Sooryavanshi announced himself on the international stage 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 racing to an 18-ball fifty in Harare. It was a timely response from the teenage batter, who had managed scores of 14, 13 and 15 in his first three appearances for India during the T20I series against England. Following 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. Earlier in the England series, Sanju Samson, who 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 XI. However, for the fifth match, the management reversed course, restoring Samson and leaving out the youngster. Samson was subsequently omitted from India’s 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 only three failures and took aim at head coach Gautam Gambhir over the move. “He (Sooryavanshi) has an effortless range of shots, yet, not one shot was cross-batted. This boy is really something special. How did Gautam Gambhir foolishly drop him, of all people, after three failures to crush his confidence?” said Srikkanth, speaking on his YouTube channel, as quoted by Sportskeeda. With Gambhir not accompanying the team on the Zimbabwe tour, former India batter VVS Laxman is serving as the side’s interim head coach. Srikkanth also highlighted the youngster’s commitment to improvement, revealing that Sooryavanshi immediately returned to work after the England series rather than taking a break. “I salute Vaibhav for his dedication. After the England series, he didn’t go home and instead went straight to the Rajasthan Royals camp. He has been working on his batting against the short ball because he wants to prove to the whole world that he is special,” Srikkanth added. The 1983 World Cup winner was equally impressed by the fearless approach shown by Sooryavanshi despite the pressure of retaining his place in the national side. 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 at which he scores at a 250 strike rate is extraordinary. Normally, after three failures, other players would have tried to safeguard their place in the Indian team by taking singles and twos. But he played fearlessly without worrying about the consequences. Scoring a 50 off 18 balls has become child’s play for him. That’s 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 India continue to face.
