'Will you play him only when someone is injured?': Ex-India cricketer criticises team management over Sooryavanshi

Former India opener Aakash Chopra questioned India’s decision to drop Vaibhav Sooryavanshi from the playing XI for the fourth T20I against New Zealand after Ishan Kishan recovered from his injury. He said the youngster should not be considered only as a replacement when other players are unavailable.

Chopra suggested that if Sooryavanshi is not going to get regular chances in the team, he should return to domestic cricket, especially first-class cricket, to gain more match experience and spend time batting in the middle.

Sooryavanshi played the second and third T20Is against New Zealand after Kishan was ruled out due to injury and scored four and 45 in his two appearances before being dropped for the fourth match.

“Last match, Abhishek made 100 and Vaibhav missed his 50. But the batting was very good. After that, the question was, if Ishan is fit, who will go out. If you think philosophically, then the answer is Vaibhav Sooryavanshi since he replaced an injured Kishan. But this was a dead rubber,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

“The decision to drop Vaibhav Sooryavanshi leads to a bigger question. Will you play Vaibhav Sooryavanshi only when someone is injured? Or when someone is unavailable? If that is the case, you can send him home. You can tell him to go and play first-class cricket. Of course, he can learn by staying in the Indian dressing room. But if it’s happening for an extended period, he should get bat on ball,” he added.

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Chopra also urged the team management to explain its plans for Sooryavanshi and clarify his role in the side. He felt the youngster’s exclusion was disappointing and raised questions about the team’s long-term plans for him.

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“The team should come out and share what their roadmap and philosophy is. Maybe they have already thought about it and have already charted out a plan. But they haven’t told anybody. As such, we don’t know what they are going to do with Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. His absence was a little disappointing,” Chopra concluded.