Former India opener Aakash Chopra strongly criticised the team management's choice to exclude teenage batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi from the fourth T20I against New Zealand in Auckland on Friday (October 30).
Despite Sooryavanshi smashing a blistering 45 runs off just 19 balls in the third match to help the visitors secure an unassailable 3-0 series lead, he was relegated back to the bench once Ishan Kishan returned from injury.
Chopra expressed his disappointment, questioning the long-term vision for the 15-year-old prodigy. He argued that if the national setup cannot offer consistent game time, Sooryavanshi would benefit more by playing first-class cricket (like the Ranji Trophy) rather than sitting in the dugout.
"Last match, Abhishek made a hundred and Vaibhav narrowly missed his fifty. But the batting was very good. After that, the question was, if Ishan is fit, who will go out? If you think philosophically, then the answer is Vaibhav Sooryavanshi since he replaced an injured Kishan. But this was a dead rubber," Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
"The decision to drop Vaibhav Sooryavanshi leads to a bigger question. Will you play Vaibhav Sooryavanshi only when someone is injured or unavailable? If that is the case, you can send him home. You can tell him to go and play first-class cricket. Of course, he can learn by staying in the Indian dressing room. But if it's happening for an extended period, he should be getting bat on ball," he added.
Chopra urged the Gautam Gambhir-led team management to publicly share their philosophy, stating that the public remains in the dark about how they intend to handle the youngster's future.
"The team should come out and share what their roadmap and philosophy are. Maybe they have already thought about it and charted out a plan. But they haven't told anybody. As such, we don't know what they are going to do with Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. His absence was a little disappointing," Chopra remarked.
During the Afghanistan T20I series in September, India head coach Gautam Gambhir had made it clear that Sooryavanshi will have to wait for his chance, calling it an exercise of patience rather than a setback for the youngster.
"From Vaibhav's point of view, it was again a very clear conversation that he has to wait for his opportunity. We know the kind of talent he has. We know what he can do. But again, someone who's done extremely well over a period of two years, obviously, will always be ahead of someone who's just got into the team.
"So, whenever he gets that run, he will get a longer run as well. And that is what Indian cricket is all about. We want competition. We want that talent in the dressing room. But that's how cricket goes. Whether you're a 15-year-old or a 30-year-old, when you have to wait for your opportunity, you have to wait for your opportunity," Gambhir had said.
It remains to be seen whether Vaibhav Sooryavanshi returns to India’s playing XI for the series finale, scheduled for Sunday (November 1) in Hamilton.
