Sports
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s struggle in ‘probation period’ could force BCCI to rethink
One last opportunity for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi to restore his good name? Not really. How a batsman fares in Sri Lanka is important. It’s not like India and Pakistan, where pitches largely support the batters in white-ball cricket, where the boundaries are smaller. Sri Lanka has a totally different reputation. The fast bowlers get assistance from the pitch, spinners do get purchase too, and boundaries are quite big in certain parts of the ground.
That is why it was always going to be an important tour for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi with India A. He had a fantastic Indian Premier League, scoring 776 runs and hitting a record 72 sixes in 16 games. Four and a half sixes every innings on average!
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But so far, he has failed to make any real impression in Sri Lanka. In his four 50-overs tri-series matches so far, he has come up with scores of 14, 44, 21 and 38. Out of these outings, 44 and 38 have come against a lesser Afghanistan A side, especially in terms of bowling. So, against hosts Sri Lanka A and a much better bowling side, he has yielded just 14 and 21 with the bat.
But it’s not that he has not tried. He has tried to stay at the crease. He has tried not to play rough shots. But then he is only 15 years old and has only a handful of cricket matches under his belt. His shot selection at his level has a long way to go. In the IPL on flat wickets, he could swing his bat at will. At this level, he can’t. He has to be much more patient than he has been so far. Twice in his four dismissals, he fell victim to short-pitched deliveries. Now that’s a matter of worry. All through the 2026 IPL, there were murmurs that he appeared a bit vulnerable against short-pitched deliveries. He got out on a few occasions too, trying to pull.
No need to press the panic button
On Sunday, India A, in all likelihood, play Sri Lanka A in the final showdown, and this is the Bihar batsman’s last opportunity — mind you, in this series — to give his fans reassurances that his previous failures were just part and parcel of the game. That there is nothing wrong with his technique or temperament, and he is set to serve India for a couple of decades at least. But if he fails one more time, that doesn’t mean anything bad. It only means that he will have to go back to domestic cricket, maybe change his team, to be part of an ‘Elite Group’ team where there is competition for places and better opposition to look forward to, play loads of cricket across red and white balls. And just get better. It’s that simple. The BCCI needs to chart it all out for him with the help of chief selector Ajit Agarkar and head coach Gautam Gambhir.
There is no doubt he is a prodigious talent. But it may take a little longer to become sharper, completely fit for the international level. He is part of the T20I team set to play Ireland and England soon. But no need to press the panic button at present. Let’s wait for Sunday’s match before we can really come to a solid conclusion. Maybe we should wait for the upcoming T20Is in Ireland and England too. That’s what the heart wants to do, but the brain says it will be a major reckoner for him on Sunday.