Rahul Dravid backs 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi to lead Test cricket revival

Rahul Dravid, cricket great and a Test veteran, wants players like 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi to lead the charge in Test cricket’s revival. Already impressed with the batting prodigy Sooryavanshi, who recently became the youngest Indian men’s debutant during the concluded UK tour, Dravid is concerned about his growth, development and management without hampering his red-ball ambitions. Having worked with the attacking left-hander at Rajasthan Royals, Dravid knows the depth of talent but urges him to maintain balance between white and red-ball cricket.

"I think you always have to find that balance," Dravid said in a chat with Cricinfo at an event in Dublin to unveil the ETPL, where he co-owns the franchise Dublin Guardians.

"And I think it's a great thing that Vaibhav is getting the experience of playing some white-ball cricket through the IPL in India, but he's also having the time to go back and play red-ball cricket in the Indian domestic system and grow his red-ball career.

"All of us also want to see Test cricket survive, all of us want to see Test cricket grow, and we need players like him to be able to hopefully play all formats of the game,” Dravid noted.

Sooryavanshi has played and dominated in his brief white-ball domestic and India career, including at the age-group cricket, but hasn’t been tested enough against the red ball. With him set to embrace his journey as the vice-captain of the East Zone in the Duleep Trophy, Vaibhav will have plenty of red-ball cricket waiting for him. Dravid too wants him to explore that aspect of the game.

"The good thing is he's going to take some time; he's going to need some experience, he's going to get an opportunity to play a lot of red-ball cricket," Dravid said. "He's not played as much red-ball cricket as probably white-ball cricket.

"He's only 15, and I think you've got to just give him some time and you've got to be patient with him. He's obviously been such a success straightaway, right, but he's going to go through his ups and downs, and I think people are going to have to be patient with him,” Dravid added.

Dravid cautions Sooryavanshi

Sooryavanshi has played just eight first-class matches, averaging a mere 17.25. With at least two East Zone games and a potential unofficial Tests against Australia A in September, Vaibhav has a chance to improve his numbers.

"I think he's going to have some success, but he also might have periods where it probably doesn't work out well for him," Dravid cautioned. "But let's all remember he's only 15 and he has a long way to go. So, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, by not playing in T20 competitions all over the world, is actually playing in the red-ball Indian domestic competition. He's growing; he's getting better at red-ball skills.

"Hopefully, someday if he does well and performs well like he has in white-ball cricket, he might become a red-ball player for India. And how exciting that would be for the world game as well."