Is Gambhir Destroying Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s Career?

India have once again left Vaibhav Sooryavanshi out of the playing XI, this time for the first T20I against West Indies in Lucknow. Sanju Samson has been preferred ahead of the 15-year-old youngster.

For me, this is becoming one of the worst examples of how to handle a young talent.

The issue is not simply that Vaibhav has been dropped. No player can be guaranteed a place in India’s XI. The problem is when India choose to play him and when they choose to leave him out.

Vaibhav has repeatedly been given opportunities when batting has been challenging. He has still managed to prove himself. But when India get easier, batting-friendly conditions where a youngster could score freely and build confidence, he finds himself outside the XI.

For a 15-year-old who has already shown that he can perform at this level, I believe this approach makes little sense.

India Had Ireland, But Waited for England to Debut Vaibhav

This is where I believe the questionable handling of Vaibhav started.

India had an opportunity to introduce him against Ireland. Normally, when a team possesses such an exceptionally young player, this is exactly the kind of opposition against which you would consider giving him his first taste of international cricket.

India did not do that.

They waited and handed a 15-year-old his senior international debut against England in England.

That was a completely different challenge.

He was suddenly facing a strong international bowling attack in unfamiliar conditions with extra bounce and movement. More importantly, these were not conditions in which every other Indian batter was dominating while Vaibhav alone struggled. Several Indian batters themselves found England’s bowlers and conditions difficult during the series.

So what exactly were we expecting from a 15-year-old making his first appearance at this level?

Vaibhav scored only 42 runs in the T20I series at an average of 14. But for me, the bigger question was never why Vaibhav struggled. It was why India chose England as the place to introduce him when they had already had the opportunity to debut him against Ireland.

Other teams generally try to make a newcomer’s transition easier. Here, India appeared to do the opposite.

And when Vaibhav subsequently got another opportunity, he showed exactly why judging him from that difficult introduction would have been a huge mistake.

Vaibhav Answered Everyone in Zimbabwe

India then travelled to Zimbabwe, and Vaibhav showed why he is considered such a special talent.

He scored 151 runs in three T20Is at an average of 50.33 and a strike rate of 196.10. He smashed a 19-ball fifty in the opening match and followed it with 81 from 49 balls in the third T20I.

Vaibhav finished the series as the Player of the Series.

This was exactly the response India should have wanted.

A 15-year-old had experienced a difficult first international series, moved on from it and then dominated his next opportunity.

At that stage, the logical move should have been to reward performance and give him continuity.

That did not happen.

Afghanistan Series Was the Perfect Opportunity to Build His Confidence

India’s next home series against Afghanistan provided exactly the type of opportunity that I believe should have been given to Vaibhav.

The conditions were extremely favourable for batting and the boundaries were short. These were conditions where most quality batters could score freely and enjoy themselves.

For a 15-year-old coming immediately after a Player-of-the-Series performance, what better opportunity could there have been to build his confidence?

Instead, Vaibhav did not play a single match.

India went back to Sanju Samson alongside Abhishek Sharma. Samson scored 10 in the opening game before making 57 from 22 balls and 50 from 35 balls in the next two.

Those fifties will obviously appear against Samson’s name, and he deserves credit for scoring them. But my question is different: why wasn’t Vaibhav given the same opportunity?

He had just been Player of the Series. If there was ever a time to tell a 15-year-old, “You have earned this; now go and express yourself,” this was it.

Instead, the youngster watched from outside while the senior player got the most batting-friendly conditions.

Gautam Gambhir had said that Vaibhav would have to wait behind players who had performed consistently for India, while also indicating that when the youngster’s opportunity came, he would receive a longer run.

But Vaibhav’s own performances were already demanding that opportunity.

Tough Asian Games Surface Arrives — And Vaibhav Is Back

Then came the Asian Games, and the selection pattern became even more difficult for me to understand.

When batting became challenging again, Vaibhav returned.

Against Sri Lanka in the semi-final, India were playing on a cracked and tricky surface. Abhishek Sharma made 7. Sanju Samson scored 7 from nine balls. Shreyas Iyer managed 13 from 13.

Vaibhav attacked and scored 38 from just 21 balls, hitting six fours and two sixes.

Ishan Kishan eventually produced the biggest innings with an unbeaten 80, but Vaibhav had once again shown that even when the pitch was not straightforward, his attacking game could work.

Against Pakistan in the final, he scored 15 from nine balls while Samson made 2 from four.

And this brings me to the most important comparison.

Whenever Vaibhav and Samson Have Played Together, Vaibhav Has Dominated the Battle

This is what makes the selection particularly frustrating.

When Vaibhav and Samson have been given opportunities together in these challenging conditions, Vaibhav has clearly dominated their individual battle.

Against Sri Lanka at the Asian Games:

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi — 38 off 21
Sanju Samson — 7 off 9

Against Pakistan:

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi — 15 off 9
Sanju Samson — 2 off 4

So this is not simply an argument that Vaibhav deserves opportunities because he is young.

He is performing.

When both players have had to bat on the same surfaces, Vaibhav has produced the better performances. He has shown more attacking intent and has looked more comfortable even in difficult conditions.

Yet when India move to a more batting-friendly situation, it is Vaibhav who finds himself outside the XI.

That is the part I simply cannot understand.

If Samson was comfortably outperforming Vaibhav whenever they played together, selecting the senior player would be completely understandable.

But when the youngster is winning that battle on the same pitches and still loses his place when conditions become easier, what exactly is he supposed to do to earn continuity?

This Is Not How I Would Handle a 15-Year-Old Talent

Vaibhav is only 15. That makes his management very different from that of an established international player.

You absolutely have to expose a youngster to difficult conditions eventually. International cricket cannot always provide flat pitches and short boundaries.

But development should be a combination of challenges and opportunities to build confidence.

Vaibhav has already passed several of those difficult tests.

He struggled in England, responded by becoming Player of the Series in Zimbabwe, and then performed again on a tricky Asian Games surface.

That should earn him continuity.

Instead, India appear willing to test him when conditions are difficult but reluctant to reward him when conditions become favourable.

That is backwards.

If you constantly make a youngster feel that every difficult innings is another audition for his place, there is a risk that eventually he stops playing with the fearlessness that made him special in the first place.

What More Does Vaibhav Have to Prove?

This is why I strongly disagree with Gautam Gambhir and Team India’s handling of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.

This is not about disrespecting Sanju Samson. He is an experienced and highly talented batter.

It is about performance being rewarded.

India had the opportunity to introduce Vaibhav against Ireland but waited until the much tougher England assignment. He responded to that difficult start by becoming Player of the Series in Zimbabwe. He was then left out when India played Afghanistan in highly favourable batting conditions. When difficult conditions returned at the Asian Games, so did Vaibhav—and he outperformed Samson when they played together.

Now that India have another opportunity to give him continuity, he is outside the XI again.

If a 15-year-old performs in the difficult conditions you give him and still cannot earn a proper run when conditions become easier, what more can you realistically ask from him?

India have perhaps the most exciting young batting talent in world cricket. They should be building his confidence after performances like these, not making him repeatedly prove that he deserves to stay.

Gautam Gambhir had spoken about giving Vaibhav a longer run when his opportunity arrived.

In my view, that longer run has already been earned.

Now India need to give it to him before this confusing selection pattern starts hurting the confidence of a player whose greatest strength has always been playing without fear.