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Vaibhav Sooryavanshi made history by making his international debut in the second T20I against England at Old Trafford, Manchester on July 4.
At just 15 years and 99 days old, the southpaw broke Sachin Tendulkar's long-standing record as the youngest-ever Indian to debut in men’s international cricket.
In his maiden outing for India, Sooryavanshi was stumped for 14 runs off 10 balls. He followed it up with knocks of 13 (5 balls) and 15 (10 balls) in the third and fourth T20Is at Trent Bridge and Bristol, respectively.
While Sooryavanshi has displayed glimpses of his explosive talent by hitting sixes against premier pacers like Jofra Archer and Josh Tongue, he failed to set the international stage on fire so far.
Ahead of the fifth and final T20I, former India cricketer Madan Lal warned against expecting instant results from Sooryavanshi while stressing the teenage prodigy must learn to build an innings rather than looking to hit big shots on every ball.
"At that level, you can't afford to hit every ball. Club cricket is different from international cricket. It's not a six-over match but a 20-over game. You have to manage your innings well," Lal said while speaking to PTI.
India suffered a nine-wicket thrashing in Bristol to concede an unassailable 0-3 lead to England in the five-T20I series.
This setback closely follows a shocking 0-2 whitewash against Ireland, piling pressure on Shreyas Iyer, who replaced Suryakumar Yadav as India’s T20I skipper despite not being part of the side’s triumphant World Cup campaign earlier this year.
Madan Lal expressed deep disappointment over the reigning T20 world champions' poor show, saying the team has missed the established performers in the ongoing UK tour.
"I am definitely shocked. We have played very poor cricket and lost five matches. We should have won against Ireland. Your captain is only as good as your team. There is a huge difference between the IPL and international cricket, and it takes time to establish yourself at the international level," Lal stated.
"Players who have performed well overseas, such as Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant, are not part of this team. Building a team is very difficult, while destroying it is very easy," he added.
The inconsequential fifth and final T20I will take place in Southampton on Saturday (July 11).
