India Coach Gautam Gambhir Urges Patience for 15-Year-Old Prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi

India coach Gautam Gambhir has stated that Vaibhav Sooryavanshi must wait for his opportunity to break into the side, keeping the 15-year-old prodigy on the sidelines during their three-match Twenty20 series sweep against Afghanistan.

Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson opened the batting for India in the series. Abhishek notably scored the third-fastest century in T20 internationals during Thursday’s 127-run victory in New Delhi.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who finished as the highest scorer in this year’s Indian Premier League, made his international debut against England in July. However, the top-order batter struggled to make an impact as the hosts dominated India in that T20 series. He later scored two fifties against Zimbabwe in Harare that same month but has not featured for India since.

“Whether you’re a 15-year-old or a 30-year-old, when you have to wait for your opportunity, you have to wait for your opportunity,” Gautam Gambhir told reporters following the match. “We know the kind of talent he has and what he can do, but someone who has been performing for the last two to three years will always be ahead of someone who has just entered the team.”

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is set to travel to Nagoya for India’s Asian Games campaign, which features a one-off T20 against hosts Japan on Tuesday ahead of the Asiad quarterfinal on September 28.

“Whenever he gets his run, he will get a longer run as well… We want competition and talent in the dressing room,” Gautam Gambhir added.