Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was named in the India A squad for their upcoming ODI tour of Sri Lanka. What does this mean for his potential international debut?
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi picked for India A; Tilak Varma to captain the side on Sri Lanka tour
Sooryavanshi received a maiden India A call-up for the one-day tri-series against Sri Lanka and Afghanistan, starting June 9. Tilak Varma will lead the 15-strong side, and Riyan Parag has been named his deputy, while Punjab Kings opener Priyansh Arya has also been picked.
India A squad for Sri Lanka tour: Tilak Varma (c), Riyan Parag (vc), Priyansh Arya, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ayush Badoni, Nishant Sindhu, Harsh Dubey, Suryansh Shedge, Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Kumar Kushagra (wk), Vipraj Nigam, Yash Thakur, Yudhvir Singh, Anshul Kamboj, Arshad Khan.
Sooryavanshi’s call-up to the A squad is a strong indicator that the selectors consider him prepared to take the final step. Then 14, he had scored 252 runs in seven games in his first-ever IPL season last year, and has already breached the 400-run mark this season after 11 games while striking at 237, the highest for batters with more than 100 runs. The international call-up is certainly not far away.
When can Vaibhav Sooryavanshi realistically make his international debut?
India’s first T20I assignment after the IPL is a two-match series against Ireland, but that may be a bit too early for him. The Sri Lanka tri-series final is scheduled on June 21, whereas the first T20I against Ireland will be played just five days later, on the 26th.
At the same time, the tri-series may also trigger his promotion to the senior side. India A’s first two matches are on June 9 against Sri Lanka A and two days later on June 11 against Afghanistan A. If the teenage southpaw goes on and scores back-to-back tons in these two games, would the BCCI pull him out of the A tour and get him on the flight to Ireland? Unlikely.
Sooryavanshi has played regularly since the Ranji Trophy in October last year, featuring in the Rising Stars Asia Cup, Vijay Hazare Trophy, Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, the Under-19 World Cup and now the IPL. Thus, a break after the Sri Lanka tour, and not an international debut in Ireland, would likely do more good than bad to Sooryavanshi.
India are also likely to field their first-choice team for the following five-T20I series against England, which runs from July 1 to 11. While Sooryavanshi has been his usual self this IPL season so far, his direct competitors for a spot in the India XI – Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan have all scored heavily in the ongoing IPL as well, and there’s no argument against them retaining their respective spots.
Thus, it is likely that Sooryvanshi will get his India bow on the three-T20I tour of Zimbabwe in July. The first game of the series is scheduled to start within two weeks of the fifth England T20I on July 23, and some of their regular 20-over stars would be deserving of a well-deserved rest by then after a packed six months, including their top three.
India have historically handed out T20I debuts on Zimbabwe tours, with 22 of their 119 international players in the format starting their careers in the format there. Sooryavanshi, thus, could make his potential international debut in Zimbabwe. India's next T20I assignment after that is a five-match series against the West Indies in October.
Also read: Why India shouldn’t fast-track Vaibhav Sooryavanshi to the T20I side
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