NEW DELHI: Fresh from their gold-medal-winning Asian Games campaign, Shreyas Iyer and Abhishek Sharma have returned to the home season with their focus already shifting towards the next generation of Indian cricket. Among the youngest members of the setup, 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has attracted plenty of attention — but Iyer believes the teenage sensation is still waiting for his opportunity to make a major impact.As India prepare to begin their five-match T20I series against the West Indies, Iyer opened up about his interactions with Sooryavanshi, revealing that their conversations often go beyond cricket. The India T20I captain said he deliberately tries to understand the teenager away from the sport, where the youngster is more comfortable being himself.
‘Very silent, but on the field, very destructive’
Speaking on JioStar’s ‘Follow the Blues: Sarpanch Shreyas’, Iyer said he has enjoyed getting to know Sooryavanshi away from the pressures and expectations surrounding his cricket.“I keep interacting with Vaibhav in terms of what he does outside the field, because everyone talks to him about cricket, and we know how talented and gifted as an individual he is. So, just to talk about his lifestyle outside, that interaction, knowing about his family, what he does, what not, that excites him more because he’s more of himself when he talks about it,” Iyer said.The contrast between Sooryavanshi’s personality away from cricket and his aggressive approach with the bat has also caught the captain’s attention.“And a very silent guy, but on the field, is very destructive. So, that’s like an irony when you look at him. He’s a very charming, sweet guy to interact with and good to have him around the dressing room,” Iyer added.While Sooryavanshi remains part of the squad, Iyer stressed that the youngster has to wait for his opportunity, with India’s established World Cup-winning openers currently ahead of him in the pecking order.“And I know that his time will come, because we have been playing with World Cup-winning openers right now, and they deserve the time out there and he’s still in the 15. So definitely, when his time comes, he is going to dominate Indian cricket,” Iyer said.
Abhishek: ‘He belongs here’
Abhishek, who was also part of India’s Asian Games gold-medal-winning campaign, echoed Iyer’s belief in Sooryavanshi’s potential while emphasising the importance of making the teenager comfortable inside the dressing room.The left-handed opener said Sooryavanshi is already more accustomed to the demands of professional cricket than most teenagers his age, having spent several years in the cricket system.“He is a very smart guy. He is not like how we used to behave at 15 or anyone does because he has already been in that cricket setup for 2-3 years. So he knows what, where, and how much to practice. I feel gradually these are things he will learn more with experience. And what we discuss in the team with each other, all teammates, is how we can make him more comfortable,” Abhishek told JioStar.The 26-year-old also believes the responsibility lies with the senior players to ensure that Sooryavanshi does not feel overwhelmed by the attention surrounding his rapid rise.“Because we all know what he has achieved and that he belongs here. So I also feel like it’s my duty as well, to make him feel that all of us, his elder brothers, are here for him. You just have to enjoy and just give your best and win the games whenever you get the chance,” he added.
Iyer wants winning to come first
While the emergence of youngsters such as Sooryavanshi offers India an opportunity to build depth, Iyer made it clear that experimentation will not come at the cost of results.“The most important thing for me is to win the series, and then we can experiment with the playing combination. Experimenting from the start doesn’t make sense because then the players also get insecure, and then they start questioning themselves, questioning others around the dressing room. And then they go in that dilemma phase where they feel like, ‘Will I get a match ahead or will I not get one?’ I don’t like that mindset. I’ve been in that mindset in the past, and I know how it feels from inside,” Iyer said.The West Indies series therefore marks the beginning of another phase for India, with the Asian Games gold medal now behind them and the focus shifting towards building a settled, confident side.
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