Making Vaibhav Suryavanshi play at U19 level ‘likely to be detrimental to his growth’: ‘Should always be about…’

WV Raman, the former head coach of the India women's team, believes that playing the 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi at the U19 level could be detrimental to the youngster's growth, and that stakeholders should always keep the bigger picture in mind. His remark came on the day India, led by Ayush Mhatre, began their U19 World Cup campaign on a high, beating the USA by six wickets under the DLS method at the Queens Sport Club in Bulawayo.

Suryavanshi has been setting the world stage on fire ever since making his Indian Premier League (IPL) debut for the Rajasthan Royals last year, where he also became the youngest Indian centurion in the history of the tournament. After the competition, Suryavanshi went on to hammer runs for fun in Australia, England and South Africa, and he even earned an India-A call-up for the Rising Stars Asia Cup.

The left-handed batter is expected to continue with his fireworks in the U19 World Cup, where India are placed in Group B alongside the USA, Bangladesh and New Zealand.

Also Read: Suryavanshi vs Tendulkar: Vaibhav may be India’s most exciting talent in decades, but Sachin comparisons don’t hold

Speaking about the young batter, Raman said that Suryavanshi can very well continue scoring runs in U19 cricket, but the fact that he has played the IPL and India A matches needs to be considered.

“This could be an unpopular opinion.#Suryavanshi has performed extremely well in the A series and the IPL. Making him play at the U-19 level is likely to be detrimental to his growth. He may win matches no doubt, but it should be always be about the big picture,” WV Raman wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

Suryavanshi fails to get going against the USA

Suryavanshi did not get off to an ideal start in the tournament, lasting just four balls in the middle against the USA. His stumps were castled when he charged down the wicket, looking to heave the ball on the leg side. He returned to the hut after scoring just two runs. The batter had warmed up really well for the World Cup, as he hit 96 off 50 balls against Scotland in the first warm-up fixture for India.

In a rain-hit match, India managed to do the needful to get on the winning board. Earlier, Henil Patel scalped five wickets as the USA were bundled out for 107 inside 36 overs. Suryavanshi himself returned with a wicket as he took the final wicket of Nitish Sudini.

Abhigyan Kundu (42*) and Kanishk Chouhan (18*) then ensured that India got over the line. India will next take on Bangladesh on Saturday, while their last group stage game against New Zealand will go ahead on January 24.

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