Former Indian off-spinner and commentator Ravi Ashwin has expressed his opinion on the Indian opening batter Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who was adjudged the player of the series in the just-concluded Zimbabwe tour.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ashwin has asserted that a lot of people spoke about Sooryavanshi struggling against the short ball. However, the 15-year-old batter had an exceptional tour against lanky Zimbabwe bowlers, especially against the short ball, putting a full stop to all his critics.
“There was nothing different about him. He is the same player. And there is no need for him to show himself differently. Why do we want that? He is a good player as he is. People spoke about the short ball stuff. Did Ricky Ponting never get out to the short ball? We must understand that someone has different strengths and weaknesses. All these things are common. How many times has Vaibhav played Jofra in England before? These are all experiences. We cannot write off anybody just like that. The problem is that expectations from him have skyrocketed, so we want him to perform every game,” he said on ‘Ash ki Baat’.
Furthermore, Ashwin has lauded the teen batting prodigy for adapting to the conditions in Zimbabwe. In the third and final T20I, he scored a 49-ball 81-run knock, taking his time and playing a long knock while other batters failed to create an impact.
“I liked the fact that the wicket was a bit slow and the ball was also spinning. He adapted so well. He was going at a much lower strike rate. He was stepping out and hitting the spinners. All those are very commendable qualities. A small kid can’t hit a spinner while standing on this wicket, so he used his feet. This is a very mature thing. His learning curve is so good that if he sits outside and observes all this, he will become an even stronger player. That was my intention (on saying he can sit out). He is going to be a phenomenal player. Let him evolve, give him time.”
“He will be consistent. His standard performance will not come here. There will be ups and downs. He will be consistent in both cricket and life. So, I think, all in all, he has a lot of ability. And he has shown how he can adapt. In IPL, I have said this so many times in commentary and review that his improvement graph is at a different level. For a 15- 16-year-old kid, I have never seen such an improvement graph. And that is exceptional.”
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