former indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin Clarified his “offer drinks” remarks to young batsman Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. Ashwin said the comment was not meant to be negative and was aimed at highlighting the importance of the 15-year-old learning by spending time with the team.
Ashwin clears the air
Ashwin had earlier said that if Suryavanshi is not selected in the starting XI, he can “serve drinks” or sit out. However, the former spinner explained that his words were misunderstood.Ashwin said on his YouTube channel, “I have said before that Vaibhav Sooryavanshi ‘can kill time, can serve someone a drink, can sit outside.'” This was not meant in a derogatory sense. “Explaining his point, he added: “I mean he’s going to learn a lot. He has such a huge learning curve to go through and if he sits on the outside and watches it, he’ll get better. Don’t talk about discarding or choosing – just let it be and let it evolve. He’s going to be a very good player. “
Suryavanshi returns to form against Zimbabwe
Suryavanshi made his debut in India’s T20I series against England but failed to make much impact. The youngster scored 14, 13 and 15 points in the three games he participated in.However, the youngster bounced back quickly in the T20I series against Zimbabwe. He hit a half-run in the first game, then 20, and finally a brilliant 81 in the final game.The left-hander ended the series with 151 runs in three games at an average of 50.33 and a strike rate of 196.10. His performance earned him the Player of the Series award.
“We cannot write his obituary immediately”
Ashwin also spoke about Sooryavanshi’s struggles with England fast bowler Jofra Archer, who dismissed him for a short delivery during England’s T20I series.“Who do you think is the strongest batsman with the short ball? Ricky Ponting? Has he never been out against the short ball? He has been out too. So we have to understand that everyone has strengths and everyone has weaknesses. These things are very common in international cricket. It’s simple – show your strengths, hide your weaknesses and keep working hard behind the scenes. All these questions… How many times has he played against Jofra Archer at Trent Bridge? These are experiences. We cannot immediately write his obituary. You can’t just deny someone,” Ashwin said.Ashwin also pointed out that Sooryavanshi’s strong performance in the IPL has increased expectations from him.“He is too young. The thing is, we rate him so highly; he has performed so well in the Indian cricket league and expectations have skyrocketed. We expect him to perform like Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma every game and be consistent. That is not the case. There are ups and downs in life and so is cricket,” he said.
