New Delhi: The controversy surrounding India’s Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has refused to die. The 15-year-old has been part of India’s T20I squads that tour Ireland and England, but is still waiting for his first international cap.As fans continue to demand his entry, the former Indian captain Kapil Dev they have interesting ideas. While he cautioned against creating too much hype around the youngster, he also said India should not wait too long if they believe he is ready.Drawing compare with Sachin Tendulkar‘ early on, Kapil said: “There are a few things – and we can mention Sachin because he was the same age when he played. We used to wonder if we were playing him too early. But if you see history, you will realize (and think), ‘kabhi kabhi late na ho jaye’ (what if you delay?).”
‘Read his skill, not his age’
Kapil believes that Sooryavanshi should be chosen on her merits, not because of her age.“I feel that if he is ready, his age should not be counted (considered) but his ability should be. If you feel 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 was also highly praised for the youngster’s natural talent.He said Sooryavanshi has the talent seen in legends like Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli, though he needs to prove himself outside the T20 format.“If you are talking about talent, yes he is as good as Sachin (Tendulkar) or Virat Kohli and that talent can be seen in him in T20, (but) for the rest (forms), he has to prove (himself),” Kapil said. The day he plays Test cricket can he play over five maidens? He is brilliant in T20s, for him to do something at such a young age, you can’t even get one out of every 100 people in the world. “
‘Don’t make too much hype’
Supporting the talent of the kid, Kapil also advised everyone to give him time to grow.“I haven’t seen much of him, I’ve only seen a little bit. He has great talent, without a doubt,” Kapil said.“But (at the same time), I think we are talking too big about him. Right now, he needs to be given time. Don’t make too much (hype) around him, someone who is young doesn’t even understand so…”, he said.
Hard times will come
Kapil also reminded everyone that every great batsman goes through difficult phases in their career.According to him, the real test of Sooryavanshi will be how he deals with the challenges.“It’s not that his bad patch won’t come, tough times will come, how can he leave? There are very few cricketers who haven’t had a bad patch, be it Sachin Tendulkar or Sunil Gavaskar or Vivian Richards,” he said.“All the players have faced difficulties… and for a player of his type, (it remains to be seen) how he can come from? He looks very talented and the kids from the new generation have confidence,” he added.Sooryavanshi earned a place in the Indian squad after an impressive IPL season and traveled with the team to Ireland and England.
