India’s bowling coach Morne Morkel reckons Vaibhav Sooryavanshi can learn a lot by being around the team and by talking to experienced players. Sooryavanshi has impressed one and all in his young career and he has certainly shown the skills to go a long way in his career.
After the T20I series against Afghanistan, head coach Gautam Gambhir said Sooryavanshi will need to wait for his chances in the playing XI. Sooryavanshi then opened the innings in the Asian Games with Abhishek Sharma but the team is expected to back Sanju Samson ahead of him for the series against the West Indies.
Sooryavanshi scored 38 off 21 balls against Sri Lanka in the semifinal of the Asian Games whereas he scored 15 runs off nine deliveries against Pakistan in the summit clash.
Morne Morkel said in the pre-match press conference, “We all know the talent of Vaibhav. I think the more time he spends in this environment, with quality players, the more time he trains at this standard, it will only be great for his cricket.
“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. Just actually watching how the guys go through their processes and how they set up innings will be key for him. I always ask him on the bus, ‘what’s the one thing you’ve learned today? Tell me, what did you think about that guy’s batting?’ And that makes him think,” Morkel added.
The former South African pacer did not reveal India’s playing combination for the first T20I against the West Indies.
“That’s the combination they felt for them at the Asian Games. We’ll work out tonight here what is the best combination for us going into the series. We’ll all assess how everybody’s feeling after jet lag, after travelling, and then from there, make a plan.”
The first T20I between India and the West Indies will be played on Tuesday.
