Indian batting coach Sitanshu Kotak backed 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, saying he was encouraged to play his natural game. He also downplayed recent losses, citing a transition phase and injuries to key players like Hardik Pandya.
Ahead of his side's third T20I against England at Nottingham, Indian batting coach Sitanshu Kotak spoke on 15-year-old prodigy's Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's international debut in the previous match, saying that the youngster was ready for a debut as soon as he joined the team and he has been encouraged to play the brand of cricket which has taken him to stardom at such a young age. History was made during the 2nd T20I at Manchester as at the age of 15 years and 99 days, Sooryavanshi surpassed legend Sachin Tendulkar (16 years and 238 days) as youngest Indian international cricketer. Despite all the hype, Sooryavanshi was not given a debut during the Ireland series, which India lost 2-0 and also was not included in the first England T20I, which was washed out. His first innings could yield only 14 in 10 balls, with two sixes.
'Play the way you play cricket'
Speaking during the presser, Sitanshu Kotak said about Sooryavanshi's debut and thought process behind it. "When Vaibhav joined the team, he was set to debut anyway. It is not like he became ready just before the last match. I think the only thing regarding his game from our side was just play your game, follow your instincts, play the way you play cricket, the same cricket that got you here. For batting, I do not think there were any other specific instructions like 'do this' or 'do that'," Kotak said.
On middle-over struggles
Speaking of India's struggles to keep their hyper-aggressive tempo in middle overs, Kotak said that in last match, the wind played a significant role in the middle overs. He also said that not every condition can produce a contest with high scores of 225-250 runs. "They (England) also bowled well in between. I think 190 was maybe a little above par or at least a par score. So, I think in both matches, 190 is not... in every condition you can't say it can be 225-250. So 190 to 200 is... but this ground (at Nottingham), yes, there are angles, it's a bit small, so the planning will obviously be according to that," he added.
'A transition is happening'
Sitanshu also took notice of change in noise around the team, shifting from their dominance till the T20 WC win to questions raising serious concerns in various departments during Shreyas Iyer's captaincy era's beginning. Sitanshu rubbished all talks, saying that team is trying to play new talent, has a new captain at helm and there has been injuries to key players, like pace bowling all-rounder Hardik Pandya.
"Our effort is to improve in all three departments: batting, bowling, and fielding. Since we won the last World Cup, the plan has been: how can we reach the next level in the next two years when the next World Cup comes. Because all teams will try to get better from where they are. So, we do not look at just one match. Sometimes a match goes well, and everyone says we did great. In another match, if two catches are dropped, everyone says the fielding was bad," he said. "Until now, in the last two years, we had not lost a single series, we won the World Cup, won the Asia Cup in T20s, so everyone says it's very good. After losing two matches, so many people say 'oh, they are losing matches'. This is a game. There is a transition happening; the captain changed, Hardik is not there, and you are trying to introduce three or four young players in preparation for two years from now. Such things can happen during that time, though they should not," he added.
On pace-bowling all-rounder reserves
On team's pace bowling all-rounder reserves after injuries to Hardik Pandya and his back-up, Nitish Kumar Reddy, batting coach Kotak acknowledged the presence of a young Suryansh Shedge, who scored 157 runs in seven innings with a fifty and an SR of over 175 for Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the IPL this season and had a solid outing with 148 runs (including a score of 72) in six innings and two wickets in Sri Lanka tri series for India A. "See, in T20, a pace-bowling all-rounder plays a very important role because if you count him as the sixth bowler, you might need him at any point. In this team as well, there is Suryansh, who did well in the IPL and was picked for the team. That is the reason; all those young players... maybe all 15 cannot play. They might get a chance to play sometime, but at least they are with the team, so they will get used to this environment. We have two years now. In between, there's a lot of domestic cricket and the IPL. Obviously, regarding Hardik's performance, quality, and experience--Nitish is gaining experience to match that. And this boy, Suryansh, has just joined the team. But if you look at the process, India, BCCI, selectors, and team management always try to prepare as best as possible for the upcoming event, even if it's two years away," he added. (ANI)
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