Former India all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin applauded star batter Vaibhav Suryavanshi for his stunning show in the Zimbabwe T20I series. Team India beat Zimbabwe 3-0. After a string of low scores in England, the 15-year-old bounced back in this series as well.

“There was nothing different about him. He is the same player. And there is no need for him to show himself differently. Why do we want that? He is a good player as he is. People spoke about the short ball stuff. Did Ricky Ponting never get out to the short ball? We must understand that someone has different strengths and weaknesses. All these things are common. How many times has Vaibhav played Jofra in England before? These are all experiences. We cannot write off anybody just like that. The problem is that expectations from him have skyrocketed, so we want him to perform every game,” he said on ‘Ash ki Baat’.

“I liked the fact that the wicket was a bit slow and the ball was also spinning. He adapted so well. He was going at a much lesser strike rate. He was stepping out and hitting the spinners. All those are very commendable qualities. A small kid can’t hit a spinner while standing on this wicket, so he used his feet. This is a very mature thing. His learning curve is so good that if he sits outside and observes all this, he will become an even stronger player. That was my intention (on saying he can sit out). He is going to be a phenomenal player. Let him evolve, give him time,” he again shared.

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“He will be consistent. His standard performance will not come here. There will be ups and downs. He will be consistent in both cricket and life. So, I think, all in all, he has a lot of ability. And he has shown how he can adapt. In IPL, I have said this so many times in commentary and review that his improvement graph is at a different level. For a 15- 16-year-old kid, I have never seen such an improvement graph. And that is exceptional,” he further added.

Meanwhile, R Ashwin also said that star batter Tilak Varma must bat higher up the order. However, he was also impressed with the way the star batter has taken the finisher role and done well. He said that he could be a huge asset should he be able to continue to play well in this position as well.

“Everyone wants him to bat in the top order. Tilak Verma is a designated no. 3 or 4. But extremely commendable in the way he finishes the innings. If he can consistently bat at this number and give a good finish like he did, even in the T20 World Cup, where he was good, it’s going to hold India in a great position. And Tilak Verma is a phenomenal player, according to me. And he will keep getting better,” R Ashwin concluded.