INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE | ROHIT SHARMA BECOMES FIRST MI BATTER TO SCORE 6000 RUNS
New Delhi, April 15: Former Australia captain Aaron Finch believes India should be cautious in fast-tracking Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s international debut, stressing the need to respect established performers despite growing hype around the 15-year-old IPL star.
The 15-year-old has been in rollicking form this IPL and his name has been put in the list of 35 T20 specialists that the national selectors have picked as probables for the T20I leg of the Ireland tour in June-July.
“Maybe it’s the right time to introduce him around the squad, give him some time, but it’s also really important that you respect the players that are doing the job game in, game out for India,” ESPNCricinfo expert Finch said during a virtual interaction.
“Playing cricket for India is the highest pressure you could possibly feel. They’re coming off a World Cup win… these guys have done it on the biggest stage.
“So I think you still have to respect that and wait for an opportunity to present itself. If there’s form or if there’s fitness issues… why not? Give it a crack. But also just let the kid play, let him continue to learn the game.”
If he manages to make his debut, Sooryavanshi will surpass Sachin Tendulkar as the youngest senior India men’s team debutant as he will be months short of 16.
The selection panel is considering whether it will be the tour of Ireland in June, or the trip to Zimbabwe after that or one among the West Indies home T20Is and the Asian Games in Japan come September.
“He’s an incredibly fast learner, whether it be technically, tactically, but he’s still got so much to learn and I love the fact that he seems to come with different plans a lot of the time. That shows his growth as a player, as such a young person,” Finch said.
“That’s a really incredible skill and no doubt that the opportunity will come. But just don’t put too much pressure on the youngster. Just let him play.”
Arshdeep lost his ability to bowl the inswinger
Finch feels India and Punjab Kings pacer Arshdeep Singh has lost his ability to bowl the inswingers to the right handers but said his lack of early wickets wasn’t necessarily a concern.
“Yes, he hasn’t got the power play wickets. To me, that’s a good sign… if Arshdeep isn’t getting power play wickets and they’re still winning games comfortably…,” the Australian said.
“He’s probably just lost his ability to bowl the inswinger to the right handers as much as what he used to… he was a big swinger of the ball both ways. I feel, he’s probably going more to his outswinger, that’s a bit more of a defensive mindset.
“But, it’s a good sign if they’re still winning games and your number one trump card still hasn’t fired… that would give me a huge amount of confidence as a captain.”
Finch feels Mumbai Indians need to fix their new ball combination and suggested that pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah should be used in the middle overs.
“I think their new ball bowling is probably something that they would want to get right really quickly…if Trent Boult hasn’t been at his best, he needs to start swinging the ball again… at times, you have to be prepared to fight fire with fire, you might as well attack,” he said.
“You think that Bumrah hasn’t been as effective but that also comes down to a real respect that teams have for him … teams identify that his overs are so crucial to the outcome of the game. So they’re almost prepared to take their foot off the gas to just deny Bumrah a wicket because once he gets access to a new batter, he’s so successful.
“I’d love to see Bumrah with the new ball, but maybe it’s time to say we’ll just keep throwing different options at teams and take him outside the power play to really try and have a big impact in those middle overs where we know if you get wickets, you stem the runs right towards the back end.” (PTI)
