Former Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin cleared the air about his ‘serve drinks’ remark on young batsman Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. Ashwin said the comment was not made in a negative way and his intention was to highlight the importance of learning for the Year 15 by spending time around the team.
Ashwin clears the air
Ashwin had earlier said that Sooryavanshi could “serve drinks” or sit out if he was not picked in the playing XI. However, the former spinner explained that his words were wrong.Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ashwin said, “I have said before that Vaibhav Sooryavanshi” can spend time, can serve someone drinks, can sit outside. It wasn’t in a derogatory way.”Explaining his point, he added: “I said he will have a lot to learn. He has such a huge learning curve to get through that if he watches him while he sits out, he will get even better. Don’t talk about quitting or picking up – let it be, let it evolve. He’s going to be a really phenomenal player.”
Sooryavanshi returns to form against Zimbabwe
Sooryavanshi made his international debut during India’s T20I series against England but failed to make a big impact. The teenager scored 14, 13 and 15 in the three games he played.The youngster, however, bounced back quickly in the T20I series against Zimbabwe. He scored a half-century in the opening match, followed it up with a 20-run knock and then smashed a brilliant 81 in the final game.The left-hander finished the series with 151 runs from three matches at an average of 50.33 and an impressive strike rate of 196.10. His performances earned him the Player of the Series award.
“We cannot immediately write his obituary”
Ashwin also spoke about Sooryavanshi’s struggles against England fast bowler Jofra Archer, who dismissed him with short deliveries during the T20I series in England.“Who do you think is the strongest batsman against the short ball? Ricky Ponting? He never got out in a short ball? He also got out. So we have to understand that everyone has strengths, everyone has weaknesses. These things are common in international cricket. It’s simple – show your strengths, hide your weaknesses, and keep working on them behind the scenes. experience. We could not write his obituary immediately. I can’t write to someone like that,” Ashwin said.Ashwin also indicated that Sooryavanshi’s strong IPL performances have increased the expectations around him.“He is such a young kid. The problem is, we rated him so high; he did so well in the IPL, the expectations were blown. We expect him to be like Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma every match, to be consistent. He is not like that. There will be ups and downs in life, even in cricket,” he said.