India bowling coach Morne Morkel believes Vaibhav Sooryavanshi can benefit greatly from spending more time around the senior team, even if the youngster does not get regular playing opportunities.
The 14-year-old was part of India’s gold medal-winning squad at the Asian Games. He featured in all their matches but could not make a big impact with the bat.
With India set to begin their T20I series against West Indies on Tuesday, Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson are likely to open the innings, which could leave Sooryavanshi waiting for his chance.
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Morkel, however, feels simply being around the team can be an important learning experience for the young batter.
“We all know the talent of Vaibhav. The more time he spends in this environment with the quality players, the more time he trains at this standard, will only be great for his cricket,” Morkel said at the pre-match press conference.
Learning From Senior Players
Morkel pointed out that Sooryavanshi can continue learning even when he is not part of the playing XI.
He said travelling with the team, sitting in the dugout and spending time in the dressing room can help the youngster understand how experienced players prepare for matches.
“And if he’s not getting that game time, he’s still on a bus, in the dugout, in the hotel with guys with a lot of experience. With him sharing that sort of dressing room and talking to guys, or just actually watching how the guys go through their processes and how they set up innings, will be key for him.”
The former South African pacer added that young players need to be given the right environment to learn and develop.
“If you put guys in the right environment and they can ask the right questions and they can observe. So I always challenge them, and for any young player, if he gets game time or if that game time is a little limited, it’s still our job to make sure that these guys learn, they grow, and they ask questions.”
Morkel Keeps Playing XI Under Wraps
Morkel did not reveal India’s likely combination for the opening T20I against West Indies.
India used Abhishek and Sooryavanshi as their opening pair during the Asian Games, but the team management could make changes for the upcoming series.
“I mean that’s the combination (Abhishek and Sooryavanshi at the top) they felt for them at the Asian Games. We’ll work out tonight what is the best combination for us going into this series. Will they adapt, will they float, will they make any changes, I quite honestly can’t give that answer now,” Morkel said.
India Dealing With Travel Fatigue
Morkel also admitted that India’s recent travel schedule could be a factor ahead of the first game.
Several players have only recently returned from the Asian Games, leaving them with little time to recover from the long journey before the West Indies series.
“…the red flag or the problem might be, our guys are travelling back after the Asian Games. Some of the guys only arrived a couple of days ago, so jet lag, getting over the journey. Once we are up and running and we get the series going, we are all really looking forward to it.”
