R Ashwin Slams Decision To Bat Vaibhav Sooryavanshi At No. 3, Demands Opening Spot for Youngster

Ravichandran Ashwin said India’s decision to send Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in at No. 3 in the second T20I against New Zealand left the teenager uncomfortable in the role.

He said the team management should reconsider his position. Sooryavanshi came into the side for the injured Ishan Kishan and lasted only eight balls, scoring four runs after arriving in the sixth over.

India kept Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma as openers, which left Sooryavanshi in an unfamiliar slot. Speaking after the match in Christchurch, Ashwin said it was too early to judge the youngster harshly, but he still described the outing as a "miss".

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"That is a miss. For a young cricketer like Vaibhav, 'miss' is too early I think to say, but because I have only two options of a hit or a miss, he just found himself a little like a fish out of water. He kept going hard, kept going hard for the eight balls," he said.

The former India off-spinner made that assessment after the match in Christchurch. His point was not that Sooryavanshi had failed permanently, but that the teenager looked out of place in that entry point and role.

'Fish Out Of Water'

Ashwin felt Sooryavanshi needed help. "It did not feel like he was ever timing the ball, and that is when you need a senior partner to walk down to him and say, 'Calm down, just hang in there, look to play close to your body, watch the ball better.'

Sometimes, as a batter, all you need to be told is to watch the ball closer. You do miss that in all the action that happens around you. So I just felt like he was a fish out of water. Walking in during the sixth over is not his cup of tea," he explained.

Ashwin’s argument was that an experienced batter at the other end could have settled Sooryavanshi down. He felt simple advice on watching the ball better and batting closer to the body might have helped the youngster adjust to the situation.

Samson At Three

Ashwin also offered a fix. If India want to keep Sooryavanshi, Abhishek and Samson in the same top-order combination, he said Samson should move to No. 3. Ashwin pointed out that Samson has filled that role for India before.

"Look, I think they played this combination before, and Sanju had to skip down to number three. If they are going to go with this combination, I am not too sure Vaibhav has got to bat at number three, but it is what it is. Today it was a miss for Vaibhav," Ashwin further said.

'Middle Order Looks Dangerous'

Ashwin ended on a positive note. He praised India’s middle order for driving the chase after New Zealand posted 180. He singled out Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Ramandeep Singh for the way they shaped the pursuit.

"India's middle order is coming through nicely. That is six, seven, and eight. It looks pretty dangerous. All of them can belt the ball. Ramandeep is a very good hitter of pace bowling. He is showing that he can really club spinners as well. To stand and hit a spinner of Mitchell Santner's pedigree is no joke, and that tells you the ability of a batter. He looks unflappable when he is batting. Great temperament.

Tilak Varma is echoing great temperament. I am not too sure about Nitish's temperament yet, but there is enough power for teams to be concerned about when they come up against India's lower middle order and middle order. It is a big hit for me," Ashwin concluded.