Former Indian player says team management has given Sooryavanshi ‘chocolate’

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in action. (Surjeet Yadav / CREIMAS for BCCI)

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi returned to his favoured batting position on Tuesday, at the top of the order, in the third T20I in Wellington. The teenager was back to work and did what he does best: dismantling the bowlers in the powerplay, scoring 45 off 19 balls. Former Indian cricketer Sadagoppan Ramesh.

Ramesh said that the team gave Sooryavanshi a chocolate for promoting him. “Sooryavanshi got a chocolate from the team management when they sent him to open. He batted with the freedom of a small boy on a Friday evening that is free in the mind, knowing the next two days are off,” Ramesh said on his Instagram channel.

In the second T20I, due to Ishan Kishan’s injury, Sooryavanshi came to bat at number three, and he looked jittery in that position. He initially gave away a chance against off-spinner Michael Bracewell, which Bevon Jacobs at point misread; however, his innings did not last long as he smashed Nathan Smith’s delivery to cover.

“He should have opened. As a youngster, as soon as the management told him that he would bat at No.3, he would have panicked. He played only because Ishan Kishan was injured. Though it wasn’t wrong of the management not to break the opening combination, Sooryavanshi doesn’t have the experience at No.3. His strength is batting at 0/0 with the anticipation of whether he’s going to hit a six or four off his first delivery,” Ramesh said on that occasion.

Decoding Sooryavanshi’s batting style: Ramesh said his main strength is coming in to bat at opening when there are only two fielders outside.

“His batting style has been one where he smashes it in the powerplay and then continues with that momentum in the middle overs. When he is already young and is new to the pressure of international cricket, it would have been ideal to play him at a position he’s comfortable at.”

In addition to Sooryavanshi his opening partner Abhishek Sharma smacked century.

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“Abhishek Sharma is batting like someone who bowlers fear just by hearing his name. He batted like a demon today. Almost all the fastest records for an opening partnership were broken. 133 runs in seven overs equates to a run rate of 19, which is just astonishing. Despite there still being time for Diwali, the Indian batters, especially Abhishek, kept bursting 1000 and 10,000 wala crackers with the bat,” Ramesh said.