There are way too many suggestions flooding in concerning the career of 15-year-old batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who has taken the cricketing world by storm with his exploits with the bat. A school of thought is backing his India debut in the upcoming T20I series against Ireland next month.
On the contrary there are experts and former players who have advised caution if the selectors are thinking of fast-tracking Sooryavanshi into the international stage. Amid all this chatter, another thought has emerged where a former Australian captain has argued how impactful Sooryavanshi could be in Tests at No. 5.
Aaron Finch says there is always room for impactful players in Test cricket. He can strike fear in the opposition bowlers like Rishabh Pant does in the longer format.
“There’s a place in Test cricket for impact players like that. You think of Rishabh Pant and the point of difference he has, he’s one player who can put real fear into an opposition because he’s unpredictable,” Finch told the Sydney Morning Herald.
“We’ve seen what Vaibhav can do against the new ball in T20. If he batted at five in Test cricket against a 50-over old ball, what could he do there?” he added.
Sooryavanshi had a rare failure on Friday, lasting just two balls against the Delhi Capitals. The Rajasthan Royals opener got off the mark with a boundary but was bowled off the next delivery by Kyle Jamieson.
Sooryavanshi is at the third spot in the Orange Cap standings with 404 runs in 10 matches at an average of 40.40 and a strike rate of 237.64.
Finch also said that one of the greatest ability of Sooryavanshi is that he has no fear while facing the greatest of bowlers in the business currently.
“The thing that astounds me is his ability to strike the ball from ball one. Even against the best bowlers in the world, he walks out; he’s got no fear, but he also has the ability to sum up game situations as well. As a 15-year-old, that’s an incredible skill to have. He’s mature way beyond his years,” said Finch.
“I don’t know what you were doing at 15, but I certainly wasn’t contemplating thumping Kagiso Rabada and Bumrah and Cummins all around the park, it’s just an extraordinary level of skill he has,” he added.
