Correspondent, 23 October: Ahead of the second T20 match against New Zealand, Indian batting coach Sitanshu Kotak expressed his clear opinion that the hype generated around young batter Vaibhav Suryavanshi is beneficial neither for the player himself nor for the team. While acknowledging the youngster's quality, Kotak noted that Suryavanshi is currently waiting for his chance to play for the Indian team, and the lack of available spots in the squad has led to various differing streams of opinion.
Following an injury to Ishan Kishan during the first T20 match, there is a possibility that Suryavanshi might get an opportunity to play on Saturday. While Kotak expressed enthusiasm about this potential chance, he pointed out that the additional discussion surrounding the young player does not benefit anyone.
Speaking on the batter's popularity, Kotak said, "He is still young in age, but the team management is taking care of him. I look at this impartially. Everyone likes Vaibhav and he is also popular on social media. But just because people like him, we cannot make changes to the playing eleven." Expressing confidence in the player's potential, he added, "He is talented and I believe his future is bright. Therefore, whenever he gets a chance and settles into the team, he will get to learn a lot."
Addressing the initial demands to include Suryavanshi in the playing XI, the batting coach stated, "Initially, there was a discussion that he must be played. I truly felt that this is not good for that player either. Because he is 15-16 years old now. Everyone is saying he should play, he is not being picked in the team, etc. etc… But he is young now."
Currently, three top batters—Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma, and Ishan Kishan—are being prioritized in the Indian setup. Commenting on this situation, Kotak explained, "He has become sensible now. With Sanju Samson and Abhishek performing well, he has realized how they cannot be benched from the team. There are batters in the middle order too. If he wants to play, and if I were in his place I would have wanted the same. But he hasn't complained about this anywhere, nor does he look disappointed." Kotak concluded by emphasizing the learning curve ahead: "The art of hitting the ball hard is a different thing, but what you learn at this level is completely different. He will learn all this and it will benefit him."
