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NEW DELHI: The debate over Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s India debut refuses to die down. The 15-year-old batting sensation has been part of India’s T20I squads for the tours of Ireland and England, but he is still waiting for his first international cap.As fans continue to demand his inclusion, former India captain Kapil Dev has shared an interesting perspective. While he warned against creating too much hype around the youngster, he also said India should not wait too long if they believe he is ready.Drawing a comparison with Sachin Tendulkar‘s early debut, Kapil said: “There are a couple of things — and we can mention about Sachin because he was of the same age when he had played. We used to wonder if we were playing him a little too early. But if you see the history, you will realise (and think), ‘kabhi kabhi late na ho jaye’ (what if you end up delaying it?).”
‘Count his ability, not his age’
Kapil believes Sooryavanshi should be picked on merit, not on the basis of his age.“I feel that if he is ready, his age should not be counted (taken into consideration) but his ability should be. If you feel that he can be played on his ability, he should be played,” Kapil said on Sports Tak.‘He is as good as Sachin and Virat in terms of talent’Kapil also had high praise for the youngster’s natural ability.He said Sooryavanshi possesses the kind of talent seen in legends like Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli, although he still has to prove himself outside the T20 format.“If you are talking about the talent, yes he is as good as Sachin (Tendulkar) or Virat Kohli and the talent can be seen in him for T20, (but) for the rest (of the formats), he will have to prove (himself),” Kapil said. The day he plays Test cricket, can he play five overs maiden? He is fabulous in T20s, to make such an impact at a young age, you will not find even one per cent of such people in the world.”
‘Don’t create so much hype’
While backing the youngster’s talent, Kapil also advised everyone to give him time to grow.“I have not seen a lot of him, have only seen a little bit. He has huge talent, without any doubt,” Kapil said.“But (at the same time), I think we are talking too big about him. At the moment, he needs to be given some time. Do not create so much (hype) around him, someone who is of a young age do not even have such understanding…”, he said.
Tough times will come
Kapil also reminded everyone that every great batter goes through difficult phases in their career.According to him, the real test for Sooryavanshi will be how he handles those challenges.“It is not that his bad patch won’t come, difficult times will come, how would he come out of it? There are only a few cricketers who never had a bad patch, be it Sachin Tendulkar or Sunil Gavaskar or Vivian Richards,” he said.“All players have been through rough times… and a cricketer of his caliber, (it remains to be seen) how would he emerge from it? He looks so talented and the kids from the new generation are just so confident,” he added.Sooryavanshi earned his place in the Indian squad after a sensational IPL season and has travelled with the team to both Ireland and England.
