Mitchell Santner Reacts To India's Decision Of Benching Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Then A Big Praise

India's teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi heads into the T20I series against New Zealand as one of the most daunting players for the opponents to face. After failing to feature in a single game for India during the five-match series against the West Indies, Sooryavanshi cannot be sure of an opportunity against the Kiwis. While New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner admitted that competition in the Indian team is fierce, he did not shy away from heaping immense praise on the 15-year-old opening batter.

As Santner arrived at the press conference on the eve of the T20I series opener, questions around Sooryavanshi and the potential threat he carries were bound to be asked. Santner, who kept a close watch on India's T20I assignment against the West Indies, said that his teammates already know how good Sooryavanshi is.

"Looking at India's squad and their last series, obviously he didn't play, but we have seen firsthand how good he is," he told reporters.

"With the IPL and the power at the top that India possess, players like Sanju and Abhishek have done really well. We know how good he is, even while the guys currently playing are also performing very well. He has a huge part to play for India in the future, whether it is in this series or not," he added.

Santner has come up against Sooryavanshi in the Indian Premier League (IPL) multiple times. While the decision to play him or not rests in the hands of the Gautam Gambhir-led team management, Santner said that his team has plans ready for the teenage opener if he plays.

"If he does get a chance this series, we have seen what he can do, and opponents have found it quite hard to stop him. I know England went quite short and hard at a lot of the Indian batters during their away series, but we have seen in the IPL how aggressive he can be. We have got some plans ready for him if he happens to play," Santner concluded.

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